THE 

H  UNDREDTH 

WAVE 


GRANTLY  STANDERSON 


From  the  library  of 


JLf. 


The  Hundredth  Wave 


The  Hundredth  Wave 


A  Novel 

Written  to  Accomplish  Two  Strongly 
Interlinked  Purposes 


By 

GRANTLY  STANDERSON 


CHICAGO 

CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY 
1916 


Copyright,  1916, 
By  Charles  H.  Kerr  &  Company 


JOHN    F.  HIGGINS 

PRINTER  AND  BINDER 


376-382    MONROE  STREET 
CHICAGO.      ILLINOIS 


PREFACE 

Within  the  kingdom  of  Human  Reason,  phil- 
osophers have  always  endeavored  to  gain  true 
visions  of  the  meaning  of  all  things  which  human 
consciousness  in  the  aggregate  has  garnered  up 
and  found  to  be  the  truth  respecting  the  universe 
and  man's  place  in  the  universe. 

Let  us  go  for  a  while  into  that  kingdom  so  that 
we  may  perhaps  glimpse  good  reasons  for  a  book 
of  the  nature  of  the  one  which  follows  this 
preface. 

First,  can  it  be  possible  that  a  book,  which 
places  Truth  as  the  Eternal  Monarch  of  the  realm 
of  Human  Reason,  can  be  justified  for  portraying 
as  apparent  facts  events  which  never  will  occur 
and  which  are  projected  in  the  narrative  far  into 
the  future? 

That  two  purposes  blend  in  the  construction  of 
the  book  must  be  very  clear;  the  one  to  arouse 
spiritually  thousands  of  devout,  honest,  followers 
of  a  false  religion  to  the  real  degradation  of  their 
religion,  and  the  other  as  high  a  purpose  as  ever 
can  move  a  human  being. 

Can  there  be  any  question  that  the  manner  of 
carrying  out  these  purposes  is  merely  a  method  of 
interestingly  transmitting  the  messages  of  the 
book?  It  is  so  intended  and  rational  judgments 
must  so  consider  it. 


1521426 


6  PEEFACE 

Yet  some  further  explanation  is  essential  lest 
erroneous  conclusions  might  still  be  drawn. 

A  certain  man  sought  long  and  with  mental 
honesty  for  the  ultimate  revelations  of  Science  re- 
specting the  universe  and  the  conclusions  to  be 
drawn  from  such  revelations,  particularly  as  they 
affected  the  origin,  history  and  destiny  of  man- 
kind. 

He  was  led  to  search  for  Truth  because  his  mind 
revolted  from  admitting  as  true  the  unbelievable 
representations  made  of  the  conduct  and  acts  of 
God  in  a  book  which  he  had  been  taught  was  the 
word  of  God. 

He  felt  deeply  that  if  he  could  only  gain  broad 
enough  knowledge  of  the  problems  which  troubled 
him  that  an  answer  which  would  satisfy  the  high- 
est yearnings  of  his  soul  would  eventually  be 
found. 

And  he  found  the  answer. 

He  found  it,  not  because  he  attained  great 
depths  of  learning,  not  because  he  garnered  in  the 
fields  of  Science  the  multitude  of  facts  and  the 
same  great  knowledge  of  the  physical  and  mental 
laws  which  philosophers  and  scientists  who  have 
devoted  many  years  of  study  have  garnered  and 
have  attained. 

But,  because  he  endeavored  always,  to  seek  the 
ultimate  truths  which  would  enable  him  to  wor- 
ship and  love  the  Supreme  Power  in  the  Universe 
as  the  "  Power  which  makes  for  Eighteousness  " 


in  the  Spiritual  life  of  mankind  and  as  the  Source 
of  Kighteousness. 

There  was  no  great  original  discovery  made  by 
him.  He  found  that  many  philosophers  had  con- 
tributed to  the  fundamental  ideas  upon  which  the 
answer  is  based. 

But  again,  he  found  that  no  teachings  of  all 
those  who  perceived  the  almost  overwhelming 
ultimate  truths,  had  ever  reached  the  great  ma- 
jority of  his  fellow  human  beings  even  in  his  own 
nation. 

He  tried  once  to  express  what  he  deemed  to  be 
the  summation  of  these  truths  which  he  had 
gleaned  from  the  works  of  worthier  men  and 
women,  and  his  message  was  lost  ere  it  reached 
more  than  a  very  few  of  those  by  whom  he  hoped 
it  would  be  welcomed. 

Still  believing  in  his  message  he  sought  a  way 
to  so  clothe  it  that  it  might  reach  the  many  in- 
stead of  but  a  few. 

This  book  is  the  result.  The  garments  in  which 
the  message  is  clothed  may  not  please,  but  if  the 
essential  things  of  the  message  itself  are  clearly 
and  truthfully  stated  and  many  shall  find  worthier 
concepts  of  the  Infinite  One  and  His  Divine  Plan 
through  this  book,  surely  it  matters  little  what 
else  is  woven  into  its  fabrics. 

Lest  one  shall  say  that  the  author  aspires  to 
be  deemed  the  one  who  is  called  the  Beloved 
Philosopher  throughout  the  book  it  may  be  pru- 
dent to  disclaim  any  such  idea.  It  was  sought  to 


8  PREFACE 

make  the  Beloved  Philosopher,  an  ideal  man  of 
the  present  stage  of  Spiritual  evolution  and  the 
author  knows  an  unworthiness  which  places  him 
far  beneath  such  a  position. 

Let  the  Beloved  Philosopher  be  considered  as  a 
composite  of  the  many  whose  thoughts  and  labors 
have  been  assimilated  and  used  in  the  book. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    THE  PROLOGUE  AND  THE  FIRST  ACT — An  Ac- 
tual  Hundredth   Wave 16 

II  A  GRIEF  AND  A  BRIEF  ROMANCE 21 

III  WITH  OPENED  EYES 27 

IV  POLYGAMOUS  TREACHERY  33 

V  A  RIGHTEOUS  VENGEANCE 36 

VI     THE  CAVE  MAN — The  Lesser  Master  Appears 

on  the  Scene 41 

VII    How  THE   BELOVED   PHILOSOPHER   CAME — The 

Gathering  of  the  Seven 48 

VIII    THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  SEVEN — 

The  Society  of  Progress  is  Planned 54 

IX    A  FATEFUL  MEETING 67 

X    PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE 

SOCIETY  OF  PROGRESS 75 

XI    A  WINTER   EPISODE 78 

XII    THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  SEVEN  DOORS 84 

XIII  THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  FIRST  DEGREE — Lincoln 

Smith  and  Mollie  Richards  Meet 90 

XIV  THE  CHAMBER  OF  TRUTH — THE  FIRST  DEGREE 

— "You  must  know  the  Truth  if  your  Souls 
shall  be  Free" 103 

XV    THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  SECOND  DEGREE — Wal- 

demar  Grant  and  Zora  Wells  meet  again.  .114 

XVI  THE  SECOND  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF  THE 
STARS — Part  of  the  New  Genesis — The  Al- 
cove of  the  Seven  Panels — Panel  No.  1 — 
God's  Truth — Panel  No.  2 — Science  and 
Genesis — Panel  No.  3 — God  and  Mormon- 
ism — Panel  No.  4— A  disagreement  of 
Genesis  with  Genesis — Panel  No.  5 — Sci- 

9 


10 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

ence  and  the  Story  of  Adam  and  Eve. 
Panel  No.  6 — Genesis  and  Astronomy — 
Panel  No.  7— "Do  you  Still  Wish  to  Seek 
the  Truth?"  129 

XVII  THE  SECOND  DEGREE,  CONTINUED — Elemental 

Facts  and  Deductions — The  Truth  respect- 
ing the  Beginning  of  all  Things — Inherent 
Mysteries — The  Infinite  One  immanent  in 
the  Universe— A  Vast  Field  of  Truth— Our 
Solar  System — The  Suns  of  the  Cosmos — 
Established  order  in  the  Universe;  Cease- 
less change  in  the  Universe;  the  Universe 
has  endured  through  boundless  time — God 
the  Supreme  Power  working  through  and 
in  the  Cosmic  Process  in  a  Divine  Plan .  . .  142 

XVIII  THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE — Nephi 

Woodruff  and  the  Huntress  of  the  Arabian 
desert  155 

XIX  THE  THIRD  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF  OUR 
WORLD — The  Alcove  of  the  Three  Panels — 
Panel  No.  1— The  Birth  of  Our  World; 
Panel  No.  2 — The  Age  of  Our  World; 
Panel  No.  3— Fitting  Our  Earth  for  the 
Creature  of  Intelligence — The  birth  of  a 
World — The  original  lands — Geological  suc- 
cession as  told  by  the  Rocks — Life  Appears 
— Truth  in  Nature 168 

XX  THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  FOURTH  DEGREE — Ma- 
thoniah  Cowley  rescues  Mildred  Thatcher 
from  the  clutch  of  the  Great  Salt  Sea 178 

XXI  THE  FOURTH  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF 
PRIMEVAL  LIFE — Alcove  of  the  Four  Panels 
— Panel  No.  1 — Biology  also  denies  Gen- 
esis; Panel  No.  2 — Life  a  stream — all  Life 
Related;  Panel  No.  3 — Evolving  the  Higher 
Types;  Panel  No.  4 — Life  Forms  evolve 
and  are  not  separate  Creations — The 
earliest  Life  on  our  Globe — The  procession 
of  life  forms 185 

XXII  THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  FIFTH  DEGREE — Ma- 
honri  Taylor  and  the  Fair  Maid  of  the 
Merry-Go-Round  202 

XXIII    THE  FIFTH  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF  MAN — 
The  Alcove  of  Dawn — Panel  No.  1 — Man 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


11 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

not  descendant  of  the  Monkeys;  Panel  No. 
2— The  Ascent  of  Man;  Panel  No.  3— The 
Heritage  of  Man;  Panel  No.  4. — Human 
Personality — The  Instruction  of  the  De- 
gree— Physical  man  an  animal — The  physi- 
cal descent  of  man  proven  by  embryology — 
The  pre-historic  man — The  onward  march 
of  humanity 210 

XXIV  THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  SIXTH  DEGREE — Rob- 
ert Young  and  the  unknown  lady 229 

XXV  THE  SIXTH  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF 
BROKEN  IDOLS — The  Room  of  the  Scrolls — 
Scroll  I — Address  of  the  Society;  The  De- 
mands of  Spiritual  Truth;  Spiritual  Idols 
not  to  be  worshipped;  Scroll  II — Genesis 
dishonors  God — The  Adam  and  Eve  story 
not  true — Plurality  of  Gods  with  physical 
passions  not  true — The  tales  of  ths  Flood 
dishonor  God  and  are  not  true;  Scroll  III — 
God  did  not  favor  Abraham  or  his  seed — 
God  is  supremely  impartial  to  all  humanity 
— Mormon  book,  Doctrines  and  Covenants, 
dishonors  God  235 

XXVI  THE  SIXTH  DEGREE,  CONTINUED — Scroll  IV — 
The  tales  of  Moses  and  the  Exodus  dis- 
honor God — The  Laws  of  Moses  dishonor 
God  and  the  Ten  Commandments  cannot  be 
true — Scroll  V — Leviticus  represents  God 
as  believing  in  wizards  and  decreeing  their 
death — Numbers  repeatedly  dishonors  God 
— Human  sacrifices  represented  as  sanc- 
tioned by  God — Elisha  and  the  bears  which 
avenged  him  upon  children — The  prophets 
make  God  exhibit  base  human  passions — 
The  Psalms  degrade  God,  but  also  contain 
higher  conceptions 266 

XXVII  THE  PROCESSION  OF  THE  RELIGIONS — Instruc- 
tion regarding  the  Old  Testament — The 
Room  of  Opened  Eyes — Scroll  I — Ancient 
Legends  resembling  the  Christ  Legends — 
Buddha  and  the  Buddhist  Scriptures — Im- 
maculate Conceptions  and  miraculous  births 
denied — Scroll  II — Reasons  why  God  could 
not  have  inspired  the  New  Testament — God 
could  not  have  inspired  both  Matthew  and 
Luke — The  conflicting  genealogies — Scroll 


12 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

III — Jesus  believed  in  Eternal  Punishment 
of  the  Wicked  in  a  Hell  of  Everlasting 
Fire — Jesus  and  the  Jews  borrowed  false 
beliefs  from  the  Persians  including  beliefs 
in  Satan  and  human  possession  by  evil 
spirits — The  casting  out  devils'  legends  are 
untrue  and  dishonor  God — The  Truth  about 
Satan  and  devils  and  Hell — Science  the 
messenger  of  God  to  emancipate  mankind 
from  such  beliefs 287 

XXVIII  MORE  ABOUT  UNTENABLE  BELIEFS  OP  JESUS — 
Scroll  IV — Jesus  believed  the  Jewish 
"Scriptures"  to  be  inspired  and  to  contain 
the  word  of  God  and  did  not  know  they 
were  untrue  and  dishonor  God — Was  Jesus 
possessed  of  a  dual  personality? — Contra- 
dictions of  his  own  teachings — Jesus  did 
not  know  that  God  is  infinitely  impartial 
and  infinitely  above  Anger  and  Vengeance 
— Jesus  acted  irrationally  in  cursing  the  fig 
tree — Jesus  was  ignorant  of  God's  laws  and 
mistakenly  valued  faith  and  prayer.  The 
"Lord's  Prayer"  dishonors  God 325 

XXIX  VITAL  NEW  TESTAMENT  DOCTRINES  DISHONOR 
GOD— Scroll  V— The  Kingdom  of  God  or  of 
Heaven  as  taught  by  Daniel  and  by  John 
the  Baptist  and  by  Jesus  dishonors  God. 
The  Doctrine  of  the  Blood  Atonement  of 
Jesus  for  those  who  sinned  in  Adam  dis- 
honors God  and  is  untrue — Divine  Love  in- 
finitely above  the  doctrines  of  the  Jewish 
Bible  and  the  New  Testament — Some  of  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  have  aided  Human 
Progress  and  some  have  retarded  it — 
Tribute  to  many  Christians  who  have 
evolved  far  in  spirituality — Scroll  VI — The 
Fatherhood  of  God — The  Divine  Plan  is  op- 
posed to  the  ideas  of  Jesus  respecting  Di- 
vine Fatherhood — Jesus'  belief  of  father- 
hood dishonored  God — The  Brotherhood  of 
Man — Jesus  did  not  comprehend  the  Divine 
Plan  and  did  not  conceive  of  humanity  as 
one  race  working  out  a  common  destiny — 
Oral  Instruction  of  Sixth  Degree — The  his- 
tory of  the  four  Gospels 345 


XXX    —ROBERT'S  PLAN— MAN  PROPOSES. 


.375 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


13 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXXI  THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF  THE 
RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS — The  Message  on  the 
entrance  door — Reconciliation  and  Har- 
mony between  Religion  and  Science— The 
Religion  of  Progress — "The  Building 
Book." — Page  1 — Warning,  the  Book  not 
sacred — Page  2 — God's  Plan — Is  there  a 
Plan? — The  Religion  of  Progress  asserts 
that  there  is  a  Divine  Plan — Page  3 — The 
Proof  of  the  Plan — Page  4 — The  Proof  of 
the  Plan,  continued — Page  5 — The  Reading 
of  the  Scale — An  inserted  Scroll — Transla- 
tion—Page 6— What  Does  It  All  Mean?— 
Page  7 — The  Struggle  Towards  Righteous- 
ness— Page  8 — Man  Has  Made  the  Evils  of 
His  Racial  Life — Page  9 — What  is  the  Best 
We  can  do  while  we  are  here? — (a)  Wor- 
ship of  God;  (b)  Consciously  assisting 
Divine  Plan — Page  10 — Spiritual  Love  for 
All  of  our  Race — Spiritual  Co-operation 
with  all  Humanity 383 

XXXII  MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK — Page  11 — The 
Realm  of  Spiritual  Laws — Page  12 — True 
Worship  of  the  Infinite  One — Page  13 — The 
Infinite  One — God  of  the  Universe— The 
Nature  of  God — Page  14 — The  Individual 
Personality — Page  15 — Whither  do  we  Go? 
— Does  Human  Personality  Survive  Physi- 
cal Death?— Page  16— The  Religion  of 
Progress — a  Religion  of  Happiness  and 
Optimism— Page  17— Truth— The  Great 
Master — End  of  the  Building  Book 429 

XXXIII  THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION — Admonitions  to 
Disciples — Great  Fields  of  Endeavor  are 
Open — Slums  and  breeding  spots  of  Evil 
will  be  transformed — Unjust  systems  of 
punishment  will  be  studied  and  abrogated — 
Plans  for  bringing  progress,  happiness 
and  healthfulness  to  the  children  of  the 
world  who  now  toil — We  must  plan  and 
organize  to  uplift  the  daily  lives  of  all  in 
our  environment — Every  home  a  germinat- 
ing place  of  happiness  and  spiritual  co-op- 
eration— Ideal  relations  of  members  of  the 
family — Christian  Science,  its  vitality;  the 
great  law  it  uses,  and  its  limitations — 
Why  dangers  and  calamities  have  been  en- 


14 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 


PAGE 


dured  by  mankind — No  superstition  toler- 
ated by  the  Religion  of  Progress — As- 
trology false — Numbers  have  no  functions 
of  Fate— What  about  Sunday?— The  Clos- 
ing Instruction  of  the  Society  of 
Progress  472 

XXXIV    A  CONFERENCE   REVELATION 491 

XXXV    FIRST    CONVOCATION    OF    THE     SOCIETY     OF 

PROGRESS    502 

XXXVI    A  RENUNCIATION  507 

XXXVII    THE  SLIP  OF  THE  WASATCH  FAULT 512 

XXXVIII     THE  CREST  OF  THE  WAVE — Was  the  Earth- 
quake a  judgment  of  God? 520 

XXXIX    THE  PURITAN  AND  THE  LESSER  MASTER 531 

XL    THE  SURGE  OF  THE  WAVE.  .  .  .536 


THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PROLOGUE  AND  THE  FIRST  ACT 

W  HE  THEE  the  drama  which  will  be  un- 
folded in  these  pages  shall  be  considered 
by  you  romance  such  as  all  healthy  minds 
can  read  with  pleasure,  or  whether  you  shall  deem 
it  weighted  with  too  much  of  things  other  than 
romance,  I  cannot  predict. 

Nevertheless  the  things  other  than  romance 
are  to  my  mind  so  important  that  the  simple  tales 
which  make  the  romance  of  the  book  would  never 
have  found  expression  except  for  these  matters  of 
deeper  moment. 

Yet  well  am  I  aware  that  you  may  deem  both 
the  romance  and  the  things  other  than  romance 
which  appear  between  this  prologue  and  the  page 
which  ends  the  book  as  equally  worthy  of  your 
condemnation,  and  if  that  be  your  honest  judgment 
after  you  have  well  considered  the  book  "from 
cover  to  cover,"  one  who  believes  in  rational  free- 
dom in  all  judgments  will  be  the  last  to  dispute 
your  conclusion  with  you. 

After  all,  do  we  not  each  adjust  his  own 
judgment  to  his  own  little  finite  foot  rule  measure- 
ments which  may  or  may  not  have  some  degree  of 
correctness  when  tested  by  the  Great  Scale  of 
God's  Truth? 

15 


16  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Looking  backward  for  considerably  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century  from  this  year  of  present 
writing,  Anno  Domini  1939,  one  can  find  certain 
strings  of  destiny  being  twisted  into  strong  cords 
which  later  on  are  interwoven  into  the  strange 
tapestry  which  but  so  lately  has  unfolded  before 
the  eyes  of  our  Nation  and  revealed  the  drama  of 
the  downfall  and  permanent  recession  of  that 
bizarre,  ill  founded,  retrogressive  religion,  Mor- 
monism. 

Who  can  measure  the  far  reaching  conse- 
quences of  an  apparently  trivial  circumstance  ? 

Even  a  Newton,  who  found  a  happier  use  of  an 
apple  than  did  our  mythical  ancestress,  Mother 
Eve,  would  not  have  conceived  that  the  friendship 
of  two  young  girls  who  met  for  the  first  time 
during  the  opening  decade  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury would  be  the  primal  cause  of  the  great 
reformation  in  Utah,  which,  in  these  days  well 
past  the  first  third  of  the  century,  has  eventuated 
in  the  larger  portion  of  the  Mormon  people  for- 
saking forever  the  religion  which  most  of  them 
now  living  inherited  from  an  ancestry  who  had 
neither  the  education  nor  the  desire  to  question 
the  validity  of  the  creed  which  appealed  to  their 
ignorant  faith. 

But  so  it  is  that  the  chain  of  cause  and  effect 
goes  backward  and  still  backward  from  some 
great  event  until  it  finds  a  simple  beginning  which 
may  be  the  mutual  love  of  a  man  and  a  woman, 
or  merely  the  girl  friendship  of  a  Mormon  maid 
with  a  Gentile  maid. 

If,  too,  an  actual  hundredth  wave  of  the  ocean 
leads  to  a  great  hundredth  wave  of  destiny  in  this 


PROLOGUE  AND  FIRST  ACT  17 

tale,  it  will  not  be  the  first  time  the  sea  has  played 

with  human  fate. 

f      *      * 

It  was  quite  in  the  ''natural  order  of  things," 
where  women  dwell  in  relatively  high  altitudes, 
that  nervous  strain  had  caused  the  wealthy  wid- 
owed Mormon  mother  of  Naomi  Snowson  to  go 
to  the  shores  of  the  great  western  ocean  to  regain 
the  nervous  balance  which  the  overstimulation  of 
mountain  air  had  upset,  and  it  was  exactly  the 
same  cause  which  made  the  Gentile  mother  of 
Eleanor  Catherton  seek  the  same  quiet  city  on  the 
huge  crescent  bay  of  the  Pacific  at  the  same  time. 

Thus  even  back  of  the  friendship  of  the  two 
girls  one  can  trace  the  thread  of  destiny  to  the 
wonderful  air  of  the  Wasatch  mountains,  daily 
ebbing  and  flowing  through  Salt  Lake  City's 
homes,  which  is  at  the  same  time  a  stimulus  to 
strong  men,  and  a  trial  to  the  finer  nerved  sex. 

Those  who  love  the  ocean  are  aware  that  when 
the  waves  roll  upon  the  beach  there  is  a  periodicity 
of  comparative  strength  and  weakness  in  the 
successive  breakers  and  this  periodicity  so  often 
eventuates  in  the  tenth  wave  of  a  series  being 
relatively  so  much  greater  than  the  others  of  the 
series  that  the  word,  "decuman,"  was  invented  to 
describe  this  great  pulsation  of  the  sea. 

It  is  the  decuman,  wThile  the  waves  are  rolling 
quietly,  which  surges  up  the  beach  far  above  its 
fellows  and  wets  the  feet  of  the  uninitiated,  and 
it  is  the  decuman  which,  when  the  waves  are 
breaking  strongly,  may  trap  the  unwary  in  a  score 
of  ways  even  to  drawing  them  into  the  clasp  of 
the  ever-dangerous  undertow. 


18  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

But  there  is  another  wave  of  the  sea  which  is 
comparatively  unknown  even  to  those  who  haunt 
the  shores. 

It  is  the  decuman  of  decumana — the  hundredth 
wave. 

It  is  a  veritable  giant  among  a  long  series 
of  waves,  and  it  is  this  wave  which  drags  school 
boys  off  the  rocks  of  the  shore  to  their  death  in 
the  sea,  where  the  ordinary  decuman  has  con- 
vinced them  of  safety ;  and  this  is  the  wave  which, 
perhaps  in  its  tenth  repetition,  places  in  danger 
even  the  most  experienced. 

So,  too,  it  is  this  wave  which,  in  some  force- 
accumulating  recurrence,  is  apt  to  drag  the  novice 
in  sea  bathing  roughly  from  the  life  line  and 
bring  him  or  her  face  to  face  with  the  specter  of 
death. 

" Beware  of  the  hundredth  wave"  should  be 
the  universal  rule  of  ocean  bathing  beaches. 

It  was  as  a  novice  that  Naomi  Snowson  reveled 
in  the  glorious  surf  which  breaks  on  the  beach  at 
Santa  Cruz. 

Many  a  maiden  born  and  reared  in  Salt  Lake 
City  has  experienced  no  outdoor  bathing  save  in 
that  wonderful  intensely  saline  inland  sea  from 
which  the  city  derives  its  name,  and  thus  it  was 
with  Naomi. 

She  could  not  swim,  for  one  needs  not  to  know 
how  to  swim  to  bathe  in  this  sea. 

To  one  who  knows  but  the  extreme  buoyancy 
of  Great  Salt  Lake,  whose  transparent  waters 
compel  floating  upon  its  surface  rather  than  en- 
able it  to  be  done,  ocean  bathing  is  a  novelty  and 
has  delights  which  compare  favorably  with  the 


PROLOGUE  AND  FIRST  ACT  19 

fine  exhiliration  and  tonic  effect  of  the  bath  in  the 
lake  of  brine. 

Shouting  in  glee  and  going  as  far  down  the  life 
line  as  she  dared,  Naomi  was  jumping  in  happi- 
ness to  avoid  the  crest  of  each  decuman  when 
destiny  sent  the  hundredth  wave.  Swelling  in 
majesty,  its  great  crest  rushed  to  the  shore,  and 
instantly  Naomi  was  submerged,  half  drowned, 
and  her  hold  released  from  the  life  line. 

But  a  mermaid  had  been  haunting  the  sea  that 
day. 

Companion  of  her  athletic  and  learned  father 
during  all  her  " tomboy"  days,  Eleanor  Catherton, 
now  fourteen  years  old,  had  learned  to  swim  when 
her  years  were  only  eight,  and  thereafter  had  fre- 
quented ocean  and  river  and  lake.  Breasting  the 
waves  of  the  bay  this  day  at  Santa  Cruz,  diving 
through  the  breakers,  swimming  far  beyond  the 
anchored  float,  and  performing  a  score  of  graceful 
feats,  she  had  been  named  The  Little  Mermaid 
by  the  appreciative  bathers  and  spectators. 

The  return  of  the  huge  wave  was  carrying 
Naomi,  half  strangled,  out  beyond  her  depth  to 
certain  death,  when  Eleanor,  who  happened  to  be 
close  at  hand,  with  the  swiftness  of  a  flashing  fish, 
rushed  through  the  water  and  grasped  Naomi  with 
one  arm  firmly  from  the  back,  beneath  her  arms. 
It  took  but  a  few  strokes  with  her  free  arm  and 
Eleanor  changed  the  overshadowing  tragedy  into 
a  rescue  which  thrilled  the  onlookers  and  filled 
Naomi's  heart  with  a  gratitude  which  through 
transmutation  eventually  resulted  in  the  deserved 
undoing  of  the  church  in  which  she  had  been 
reared. 


20  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

For  it  was  her  son  who,  in  the  years  just  past, 
organized  and  carried  out  the  great  work  which 
aroused  Mormon  intelligence  and  Mormon  man- 
hood against  slavery  to  the  priesthood  and 
against  a  religion  which  necessarily  delayed  hu- 
man progress  towards  the  better  spiritual  life. 

That  summer  cemented  a  lifelong  friendship 
between  the  two  girls,  and  Eleanor,  daughter  of  a 
philosopher,  as  well  as  of  a  cultured  mother,  un- 
consciously in  their  intimacies  gave  Naomi  her 
first  glimpses  of  certain  revelations  of  science 
which  afterward  led  the  Mormon  girl  to  reject 
utterly  the  irrational  vagaries  and  bigotry  of  the 
Mormon  faith. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  GRIEF  AND  A  BRIEF  ROMANCE. 

WHEN  Naomi  Snowson  was  eighteen  she 
suffered  a  grief  which  seemed  to  her 
almost  a  tragedy,  but  later,  when  real 
tragedy  came  into  her  life,  she  knew  the  former 
grief  as  great  good  fortune. 

In  Utah  in  1890  the  President  of  the  Mormon 
Church  had  issued  what  he  claimed  to  be  a  divinely 
inspired  " Manifesto,"  declaring  that  polygamous 
marriages  and  polygamous  practices  should  cease 
among  the  Mormon  people. 

But  so  bitter  had  been  the  institutional  warfare 
between  Mormonism  and  true  Americanism,  the 
Gentiles  of  Utah  for  years  still  rightfully  regarded 
the  Mormons  as  alien  in  their  religion  and  in  their 
ideals  of  family  life,  as  well  as  of  civic  govern- 
ment. 

So  it  happened  that  the  fundamental  views  of 
life  of  the  Mormons  and  of  the  Gentiles  were  so 
foreign  to  each  other  that  practically  no  Gentile 
families  associated  closely  in  a  social  way  with 
the  orthodox  Mormons.  "When  occasionally  a 
Gentile  youth  married  a  Mormon  girl  it  was  con- 
sidered almost  a  family  disgrace,  although  in  more 
than  one  instance  the  apostasy  of  the  Mormon 
wife  from  the  faith  she  had  held  brought  both 
happiness  and  social  recognition  to  such  a  union. 
Seldom,  if  ever,  a  Gentile  girl  married  an  ortho- 
dox Mormon. 

21 


22 

Because  of  this  rigidly  drawn  social  condition 
the  intimacy  of  Eleanor  and  Naomi,  which  con- 
tinued after  their  return  from  the  sea  shore, 
incited  much  comment,  but  Naomi's  mother,  while 
a  member  of  one  of  the  so-called  "  Royal  Fami- 
lies" of  Mormondom,  had  decided  independence 
of  character  and  encouraged  the  companionship 
of  the  girls. 

"What  hopes  she  built  upon  the  friendship 
between  her  only  child  and  a  cultured  American 
family  who  can  say?  Though  she  did  not  live 
to  see  the  real  tragedy  of  her  daughter 's  life,  yet 
more  than  once  the  bitterest  sneer  of  orthodoxy 
was  turned  upon  her  when  one  of  "the  brethren" 
or  a  "sister"  would  say,  "Bathsheba  Snowson 
ought  to  be  sent  on  a  mission." 

The  stereotyped  punishment  of  the  Mormon 
Church  authorities  for  independence  of  thought, 
which  they  deemed  budding  apostasy,  was  to  force 
the  daring  thinker  to  go  on  a  mission  to  proselyte 
for  the  church.  If  he  yielded  to  the  mandate  he 
either  surrendered  his  manhood  to  hypocrisy  and 
servile  obedience  to  the  priesthood,  or,  in  a  small 
percentage  of  instances,  he  learned  the  better 
truth  and  had  strength  of  character  enough  to 
become  a  real  apostate. 

The  sneer  against  Bathsheba  Snowson  was 
therefore  the  typical  sneer  of  hypocritical  ortho- 
doxy against  freedom  of  thought  and  freedom  of 
personal  judgment,  though  it  accords  with  reason 
and  knowledge.  How  often  in  human  history  have 
such  sneers  degraded  human  souls,  and  prevented 
those  who  felt  the  need  of  the  truth  from  seek- 
ing it? 


A  GKIEF  AND  A  ROMANCE  23 

The  encouragement  by  Bathsheba  Snowson  of 
the  companionship  of  Naomi  with  Eleanor  re- 
sulted in  an  admiration,  devotion  and  love  for 
Eleanor  on  Naomi's  part  which,  until  they  became 
separated,  wholly  substituted  for  the  sex  attrac- 
tion which  Mormonism  encourages  and  theo- 
logically deifies. 

Naomi's  life  was  thus  singularly  free  from  the 
common  degeneracy  engendered  amongst  this  pe- 
culiar people  who  give  God  "a  body,  parts  and 
passions"  and  who  treat  the  sexual  relations  as 
something  to  be  encouraged  even  to  the  extent  of 
multiple  polygamy. 

It  was  when  Naomi  was  eighteen  that  Eleanor 's 
father  was  called  Eastward  to  a  high  professor- 
ship in  that  great  University  of  the  Middle  West 
which  sits  enthroned  on  beautiful  hills  on  the 
shore  of  the  fourth  of  a  chain  of  lovely  lakes 
betwixt  two  of  which  Capitolton,  the  University 
City,  finds  its  rare  setting. 

To  part  from  Eleanor  seemed  impossible  to 
Naomi.  Her  heart  was  like  unto  that  of  a  sweet- 
heart whose  lover  goes  on  a  long  journey.  The 
future  seemed  drear  and  almost  unbearable. 

For  several  months  after  Eleanor  had  gone 
her  mother  feared  Naomi  would  wreck  her  health 
with  grieving,  but  at  last  a  new  interest  awakened 
in  her  heart,  which,  alas,  eventually  brought  an 
unhappiness  as  deep  as  life  could  hold. 

Until  along  in  the  nineties  few  Mormon  young 
men  attended  Eastern  colleges;  then,  some,  who 
were  ambitious  to  become  lawyers  and  doctors, 
began  to  pursue  their  studies  in  the  older  estab- 
lished schools  of  the  East. 


24  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Hyrum  Smith  Flesher  had  been  one  who  had 
taken  an  Eastern  college  course  and  who  had 
returned  to  Utah  about  the  time  Eleanor  Gather- 
ton  had  departed.  One  who  was  wise  in  reading 
human  character,  even  then,  could  have  discerned 
in  him  certain  qualities  which  promised  to  mature 
into  most  sinister  traits. 

Nearly  six  feet  tall,  heavily  stalwart  in  build, 
black  of  hair  and  mustache,  with  dark  eyes,  he 
might  easily  be  idealized  in  the  heart  of  a  young 
girl,  and  he  had  a  certain  boldness  of  gaze  which 
often  evidences  the  soul  of  a  libertine,  but  might 
readily  be  mistaken  for  respectful  admiration  by 
an  inexperienced  maiden. 

We,  who  knew  him,  in  the  light  of  all  that  has 
occurred,  are  now  certain  that  before  he  had  met 
her  he  had  laid  his  snare  for  Naomi,  in  avarice 
and  lust,  and,  in  keeping  with  his  later  career,  he 
was  willing  to  go  any  length  in  hypocrisy  and 
deceit  to  accomplish  his  selfish  ends. 

Naomi  was  an  heiress  in  her  own  right.  Her 
father  had  been  one  of  the  shrewd  Mormon  mer- 
chants and  bankers  who  had  amassed  a  large 
fortune.  One-half  he  had  left  to  his  wife  (he  had 
never  been  a  polygamist)  and  one-half  to  Naomi. 
Through  the  shrewd  guardianship  of  that  well- 
known,  honest  Mormon  banker,  Leonard  Moun- 
tain, Naomi's  fortune  had  increased  so  that  it  was 
a  more  or  less  open  secret  that  she  was  "the 
wealthiest  maid  in  Zion." 

It  is  now  known  that  Hyrum  Flesher,  under 
subterfuge  of  examination  of  a  title,  had  carefully 
inspected  the  guardianship  records  before  he 
planned  to  meet  Naomi. 


A  GRIEF  AND  A  ROMANCE  25 

It  was  certainly  a  sort  of  poetic  justice  which 
before  long  turned  his  covetousness  of  Naomi's 
wealth  into  dead  sea  fruit. 

This  is  not  the  tale  of  Naomi's  poor  little  tem- 
porary romance,  though  without  her  flitting 
dream  of  happiness  with  Hyrum  Flesher  the  tale 
could  not  have  been  written. 

Catching  her  heart  on  the  rebound,  pretending 
sincere  love  and  devotion,  pledging  most  solemnly 
his  belief  in  the  civilized  ideal  of  monogamy,  and 
professing  that  he  could  not  tolerate  a  thought  of 
polygamy,  he  stormed  Naomi's  girlish  fancy,  and 
within  a  year  of  the  departure  of  Eleanor,  Naomi's 
marriage  with  him  took  place. 

Naomi  did  not  follow  the  marriage  ordinances 
and  rites  of  the  orthodox  Mormons. 

Her  mother  had  sickened  at  heart  when,  as  a 
young,  pure-hearted  girl,  she  had  experienced  the 
innately  hateful  and  degrading  ceremonies  of  her 
church  in  the  old  Endowment  House  at  Salt  Lake 
City. 

When  Naomi  was  married  these  same  secret 
ordinances  were  performed  in  the  massively-built 
Mormon  Temple,  within  whose  walls  since  its  dedi- 
cation no  Gentile  was  ever  permitted  until  the 
fateful  year  when  nature's  cataclysmal  forces  at 
last  opened  entrances  through  which  Gentiles 
surged. 

Thus  it  was  that  Bathsheba  Snowson  would 
not  permit  Naomi  to  "go  through  the  Temple" 
for  either  endowments  or  marriage,  and  Hyrum 
Flesher  smugly  conceded  that  it  was  right  not  to 
do  so,  while  at  the  same  time  he  had  secretly  prom- 
ised the  Church  "authorities"  that  as  soon  as  he 


26  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

had  gained  the  possession  of  Naomi's  wealth  he 
would  pay  into  theTithing  Fund  for  the  benefit 
of  the  ''Holy  Priesthood"  a  full  tithe,  or  one- 
tenth  of  the  great  sum 

Alas,  for  the  avarice  of  the  hierarchy,  that 
tithe  never  went  into  the  swollen  coffers  out  of 
which  the  priesthood  has  always  grown  rich. 

But  it  was  in  this  way  Hyrum  Flesher,  wholly 
without  Naomi's  knowledge,  kept  his  "standing" 
with  the  Mormon  church  "good,"  and  remained 
"in  harmony  with  his  quorum." 


CHAPTER  III. 

WITH  OPENED  EYES. 

NAOMI'S  first  fleeting  doubts  of  Hyrum 
came  during  the  honeymoon  before  their 
return  to  Salt  Lake  City. 

Secure  in  the  possession  matrimony  gives,  the 
mask  of  the  hypocrite  and  of  the  potential  libertine 
occasionally  slipped,  but  innocent  Naomi  scarce 
heeded  even  her  own  misgivings. 

Upon  her  return  to  Salt  Lake  City  her  mother's 
rapidly  declining  health  so  alarmed  her  she 
thought  little  of  Hyrum 's  artfully  laid  plot  where- 
by he  obtained  two  thousand  dollars  from  her, 
representing  that  it  would  be  used  for  a  special 
investment  to  assist  him  in  obtaining  a  business 
foothold.  Again  a  month  later  he  plotted  and 
obtained  another  thousand  and  again  a  fourth 
thousand. 

Shrewd,  kindly  Leonard  Mountain  didn't  like 
Hyrum,  and  after  the  latter  had  accomplished 
these  raids  upon  Naomi's  bank  balances  the 
banker  made  it  a  personal  matter  to  call  upon 
Bathsheba  Snowson.  The  two  were  lifelong 
friends  and  incidentally  Mountain  conveyed  to  the 
mother  the  advice  that  her  daughter  would  do  well 
thereafter  to  seek  his  counsel  respecting  any  of 
Hyrum 's  schemes  for  using  Naomi's  money,  giv- 
ing as  a  reason  that  Hyrum  lacked  experience,  and 
that  Naomi's  fortune  was  her  great  protection  in 
many  ways, 

27 


28  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  mother,  feeling  her  days  to  be  numbered, 
opened  her  heart  to  Naomi  and  gave  to  her  the 
counsel  which  one,  who  goes  on  a  journey  from 
whence  there  is  no  return,  gives  to  the  one  most 
loved. 

Naomi  then  knew  with  certainty  for  the  first 
time  that  her  mother  had  long  doubted  the  truth 
of  the  Mormon  religion  and  also  that  she  feared 
Hyrum  might  try  to  obtain  the  control  of  Naomi's 
property. 

The  daughter  learned  also  that  her  mother  had 
well  understood  that  the  powerful  discipline  of  the 
church  against  her  had  only  been  withheld  because 
her  wealth  led  to  the  hope  of  great  benefits  at 
some  future  time.  And  her  mother  then  warned 
Naomi  always  to  control  her  own  property  and 
affairs  and  to  seek  the  counsel  of  Leonard  Moun- 
tain. Such  confidences  sink  deep  and  are  never 
forgotten. 

That  night  the  weakened  heart  of  Bathsheba 
Snowson  stopped  beating  and  Naomi  knew  the 
bitter  grief  of  a  mother's  loss. 

With  almost  indecent  haste  Hyrum  Flesher 
urged  upon  Naomi  that  he  should  be  appointed 
administrator  of  her  mother's  estate,  only  to  find 
that  Judge  Olds,  the  unusually  liberal  minded 
Mormon  lawyer,  had  in  his  possession  a  will  which 
made  Leonard  Mountain  executor  and  trustee  to 
hold  the  entire  estate  in  trust  for  ten  years  and 
then  to  turn  it  over  to  Naomi. 

Mark  check  number  one  against  the  conspiracy 
of  Hyrum  and  the  Tithing  Fund. 


29 

Fate  assembled  its  arrows  against  Naomi  in 
the  next  few  months. 

Conscious  that  motherhood  would  come  to  her 
within  a  year  of  her  wedding  day,  she  also  became 
aware  soon  after  her  mother's  death  that  Hyrum 
was  inventing  excuses  to  account  for  absences 
from  home  until  late  at  night. 

Then  suddenly  she  became  the  object  of  certain 
Mormon  attentions  for  which  she  was  at  a  loss  to 
account  until  later.  The  bishop  of  her  ecclesi- 
astical ward  called  upon  her  to  urge  her  to  pay 
tithing  and  incidentally  commented  on  the  duty  of 
Mormon  men  and  women  "to  live  their  religion." 

Naomi  knew  that,  in  the  days  before  the  Wood- 
ruff manifesto  anent  polygamy,  "to  live  your  re- 
ligion" in  Mormondom  meant  that  a  man  ought  to 
take  plural  or  polygamous  wives  and  that  a  legal 
or  "first"  wife,  if  she  would  be  sure  of  heaven, 
must  give  her  consent  to  the  husband  to  permit 
him  to  "marry"  one  or  more  of  such  polygamous 
"wives."  Withholding  her  consent,  her  doom  in 
heaven  would  be  to  become  the  menial  servant  of 
the  other  "wives." 

The  Mormon  teaching  that  thereby  the  man 
would  become  exalted  in  the  pitiably  sensual 
heaven  of  their  imagination,  and  that  his  wives 
would  incidentally  thereby  hold  a  higher  heavenly 
social  status  than  mere  monogamists,  was  well 
known  to  Naomi,  but  at  first  she  did  not  dream 
that  the  leaders  of  the  Mormon  Church  had  se- 
cretly revived  polygamy  and  thereby  had  made  as 
treacherous  breach  of  faith  with  our  Nation  as 
could  be  made. 


30  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

We  now  know  that  this  was  true  beyond  ques- 
tion, but  the  personal  note  in  the  bishop 's  urgings 
did  not  then  arouse  suspicion  in  Naomi's  breast, 
and  yet  she  told  him  frankly  that  she  doubted  the 
Mormon  faith  and  that  he  surely  could  not  mean 
that  polygamy  would  again  disgrace  Utah.  The 
wily  bishop  smoothed  over  the  situation,  but  urged 
her  not  to  forsake  the  faith  of  her  father. 

Within  a  week  one  of  the  " First  Presidency" 
of  the  Church  followed  up  the  bishop.  This  was 
the  one  who  has  since  been  reputed  as  the  first 
"elder"  of  the  Church  to  secretly  perform  a 
polygamous  "Church"  marriage  against  the  "in- 
spired Manifesto"  of  President  Woodruff  and 
against  the  solemn  pledges  made  by  the  Mormon 
people  to  our  Nation  and  its  representatives. 

Here  was  a  fanatic — an  evil  fanatic  for  the 
Mormon  people. 

At  first  unctuously  striving  to  have  Naomi 
agree  "to  take  her  endowments,"  knowing  that 
full  tithing  must  first  be  paid  to  put  her  "in  good 
standing,"  he  finally  became  incensed  at  her  per- 
sistent refusal  to  admit  a  duty  towards  the  church, 
then  blazing  in  anger,  as  was  his  temperamental 
custom,  he  blurted  out  that  Hyrum,  bearing  as 
given  names  those  of  Hyrum  Smith,  "the  mar- 
tyr," was  in  full  fellowship  with  the  church  and 
that  she  owed  a  duty  to  God  to  let  him  "live  his 
religion." 

That  if  she  didn't  place  herself  "in  good  stand- 
ing" that  a  "church  divorce"  would  be  her  por- 
tion and  she  would  lose  all  exaltation  in  heaven 
and  be  only  a  menial  servant  in  Hyrum 's  celestial 
dwelling. 


WITH  OPENED  EYES  31 

Still  hot  with  his  anger,  he  then  raged  that  if 
she  forced  this  "church  divorce"  Hyrum  would 
not  need  her  consent  "to  live  his  religion." 

A  psychic  decuman  of  destiny  suddenly  sub- 
merged Naomi's  heart. 

The  truth  flashed  into  her  consciousness.  How 
she  managed  to  force  her  visitor  to  leave  her  she 
scarcely  could  recall,  but  she  shortly  found  herself 
upon  her  bed  writhing  in  torture,  for  she  knew 
now  that  her  husband  intended  to  take  a  polyga- 
mous concubine  and  that  the  full  power  of  the 
Mormon  Church  was  being  exerted  to  coerce  her 
to  consent  to  it. 

She  now  realized  that  her  bride  love  for  Hyrum 
had  been  driven  out  of  her  heart.  She  saw  him 
as  he  actually  was — sensual,  gross,  supremely 
selfish,  and  basely  untrue  to  her,  his  lawful  wife. 

A  hundred  significant  proofs  of  his  treachery 
flashed  through  her  mind. 

She  even  knew  the  woman  whom  Hyrum  had 
selected  to  supplant  her.  She  had  seen  them  to- 
gether more  than  once  and  actually  had  been 
railed  at  by  joking  Mormon  friends,  who  twitted 
her  about  " Hyrum 's  second." 

She  had  not  honored  Hyrum  and  his  voluptu- 
ous, sensual  looking  innamorata  with  her  jealousy. 
It  had  not  occurred  to  her  to  be  jealous  and  now 
that  she  knew  the  truth,  after  the  first  agony,  her 
clean,  strong  mind  slowly  overcame  the  early  tor- 
ture of  the  revelation. 

'  It  was  her  baby  for  whom  she  most  suffered. 
The  thought  of  such  a  father  for  her  unborn  child 
was  her  great  grief. 


32 

As  she  rallied  and  her  mind  became  more  calm, 
gradually  the  plan  of  her  future  life  sprang  up  in 
her  clearing  brain  and  she  realized  how  Hyrum 
should  be  justly  punished  for  his  baseness  and 
treachery. 

It  was  a  memory  of  Eleanor  Catherton  which 
brought  hope  to  Naomi  in  her  tragedy. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

POLYGAMOUS  TREACHERY. 

WHO  can  make  proper  tribute  to  the  woman 
who  remains  unmarried  until  she  is  re- 
garded as  not  fated  for  matrimony,  and 
yet  whose  nature  is  so  clean  and  wise  and  sweet 
and  self-sacrificing  that  some  better  term  than 
"bachelor  maid"  should  be  invented  to  designate 
her  type? 

Don't  you  recognize  her?  Isn't  she  a  dearly 
loved  sister  or  an  aunt  whose  love  and  service 
have  helped  you,  or  a  friend  you  greatly  cherish? 

It  chanced,  when  the  Catherton  family  removed 
from  the  West,  that  Alice  Douglas,  an  aunt  of 
Eleanor's,  who,  now  at  forty-five,  in  every  way 
fitted  the  type  of  unmarried  womanhood  to  whom 
such  tribute  is  due,  remained  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

Naomi  valued  her  friendship  with  Alice  Doug- 
las as  part  of  her  life's  best  inspirations. 

Eleanor  and  she  had  always  found  loving  sym- 
pathy and  guidance  from  "Aunt  Alice,"  in  many 
of  the  little  dramas  which  girlhood  is  always  en- 
acting, and,  after  Eleanor  had  gone,  Naomi  main- 
tained the  friendship,  although  they  saw  much 
less  of  each  other. 

The  morning  after  the  visit  of  the  "First 
Councilor"  Naomi  sent  for  Alice  Douglas,  who 
came  at  once,  and  listened  in  horror  and  loving 
sympathy  to  Naomi's  story  of  Hyrum's  degen- 
eracy. 

33 


34  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

The  wheel  of  fate  was  still  turning  rapidly  for 
Naomi. 

While  she  and  Alice  Douglas  were  immured  in 
her  chamber  she  was  summoned  to  see  a  visitor, 
and  found  awaiting  her  in  her  reception  room  a 
quaint  little  woman  far  along  in  years,  but  still 
bright  and  busy,  who  had  been  a  friend  of  her 
mother's  and  who  was  a  well-known  Mormon 
Temple  " worker." 

"Sister"  Elizabeth  had  not  heard  of  Naomi's 
defection  from  the  Mormon  faith,  and,  being  an 
honest  believer  in  the  original  polygamy  "revela- 
tion," she  had  fanatically  jumped  at  a  wrong 
conclusion. 

The  final  result  scarcely  was  that  contemplated 
by  the  "Sister." 

Hyrum  had  not  been  at  home  for  two  days  and 
had  not  informed  Naomi  of  his  whereabouts.  It 
had  been  a  relief  to  her  ihat  he  was  away.  She 
was  now  to  learn  the  reason  of  his  absence. 

"Sister"  Elizabeth  quite  effusively  started  in 
to  call  the  blessings  of  God  on  dear  "Sister" 
Naomi  and  to  tell  her  that  she  was  now  secure  in 
her  place  of  exaltation  in  Hyrum 's  celestial  man- 
sion, and  then  remarked  in  a  self-congratulatory 
way  that  it  had  been  her  sacred  privilege  that 
morning  to  see  Hyrum  "sealed"  to  his  second 
wife  in  the  Temple  by  the  "First  Councilor,"  in 
fulfillment  of  the  revelation  given  to  the  "prophet 
Joseph"  (meaning  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.). 

Naomi  had  passed  through  her  garden  of 
agony,  and  was  now  approaching  the  beautiful 
realm  of  spiritual  tranquilization. 


POLYGAMOUS  TREACHERY  35 

So  it  was  that  the  unwitting  confirmation  of 
her  previous  deductions  found  her  so  nerved  to 
meet  whatever  might  come  from  Hyrum's  treach- 
ery that  she  succeeded  in  getting  "Sister"  Eliza- 
beth out  of  the  house  without  the  latter  suspecting 
that  her  news  had  at  least  sealed  Hyrum's  hands 
from  ever  plunging  again  into  the  treasury  he  had 
hoped  to  plunder  and  out  of  which  even  then  he 
was  paying  for  his  lustful  second  honeymoon. 

If  he  had  known  that  Alice  Douglas  and  Naomi 
had  together  conceived  a  little  plot  of  righteous 
vengeance  against  him,  which  would  leave  him 
with  a  constant  menace  of  criminal  prosecution  as 
well  as  entirely  helpless  ever  afterwards  to  change 
the  status,  he  might  not  have  exulted  so  much  in 
his  sensual  revelry  in  which  his  pure-minded  legal 
wife  was  forgotten. 

But  he  was  soon  to  taste  in  utter  bitterness  the 
dead  sea  fruit  prepared  for  him. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  RIGHTEOUS  VENGEANCE. 

ON  the  third  day  of  his  "hiding  out"  with 
his  polygamous  consort  Hyrum  was  sur- 
prised to  be  handed  a  bulky  letter  in 
Naomi's  handwriting. 

He  thought  he  had  successfully  hoodwinked  his 
legal  wife,  and,  wrapped  up  in  the  consummation 
of  those  animalistic  passions  which  the  true  Mor- 
mon, in  utter  ignorance  of  the  moral  degradation 
thereof,  exalts  and  deifies,  he  had  thought  little  of 
how  Naomi  would  regard  his  treachery  to  her 
when  she  should  finally  learn  of  it. 

He  expected  to  hide  his  consort  in  another 
county  amongst  an  orthodox  Mormon  community, 
all  of  whom  would  keep  his  secret,  as  is  usual  in 
such  cases,  and  he  had  avariciously  planned  that 
Naomi's  money  would  maintain  his  mate  in  lust, 
and  that  he  would  very  often  have  business  to  call 
him  where  he  could  be  with  this  unlawful  mate. 

Conceive,  if  you  can,  the  black  bitterness  of  his 
selfish  lascivious  soul  when  he  read  the  unexpected 
letter. 

Fortunately  a  copy  of  it  is  available  and  it 
certainly  speaks  for  itself  if  ever  letter  did. 

"Hyrum: 

"I  will  not  call  you  'dear,'  for  now  I  know  you 
in  all  the  baseness  and  degradation  of  your  soul, 
and  I  wonder  that  I  ever  thought  I  loved  you. 

36 


A  EIGHTEOUS  VENGEANCE  37 

' '  Not  only  do  I  know  that  you  have  broken  the 
faith  you  pledged  to  me,  but,  far  more  important 
now  in  my  eyes,  /  know  when  and  where  and  by 
ivhom  the  ivicked  sealing  ivas  done. 

"I  insist  that  you  shall  weigh  this  knowledge 
to  the  fullest  extent  and  consider  what  it  means. 
I  know  the  witnesses  to  call,  if  it  ever  becomes 
necessary  to  prove  that  you  have  committed  a 
crime  against  me,  against  my  unborn  child,  and 
against  the  law. 

'  *  I  warn  you  now,  Hyrum  Flesher,  that  I  have 
arranged  to  invoke  the  most  powerful  forces  in 
our  Nation  against  you  if  you  fail  to  heed  faith- 
fully the  restrictions  and  the  conditions  I  will  im- 
pose upon  you. 

"I  am  not  in  the  helpless,  pitiable  plight  of 
many  a  Mormon  woman  when  the  lust  of  a  hus- 
band drags  her  into  consenting  to  polygamy  and 
who  ever  after  lives  with  broken  spirit. 

"I  am  glad  to  tell  you  that  I  have  forever  for- 
saken a  religious  faith  which  can  tolerate  for  a 
moment  the  idea  that  the  God  of  our  great  uni- 
verse gave  a  revelation  to  any  people  which 
sanctioned  or  encouraged  polygamy. 

"The  Mormon  people  are  blind  to  the  higher 
ideals  of  spiritual  life  when  they  maintain  such  a 
belief,  and  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  was  a  prophet  of 
his  own  lust,  and  not  a  prophet  of  God,  when  he 
proclaimed  this  false  revelation. 

"I  shall  not  try  to  reveal  to  such  a  nature  as 
yours  the  infinitely  higher  faith  I  have  gained 
from  association  with  those  who  believe  that 
ethically  controlled  passion  and  the  mating  of 
pure  souls  into  a  companionship  and  union  of  one 


38  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

husband  and  one  wife,  till  death  shall  part  them, 
is  God's  plan  for  the  family  of  highest  spirituality. 

"Your  selfish,  sensual  soul  will  not  be  able  to 
understand  this,  but  I  wish  you  to  know,  that  you 
and  all  other  Mormons  who  believe  that  God  gave 
a  revelation  sanctioning  polygamy,  are  far  down 
in  the  spiritual  scale  and  are  not  God's  people,  as 
you  claim,  but  simply  deluded  religionists  of  a 
base  religion  which  cannot  survive. 

' '  Now  you  shall  know  my  conditions  and  exac- 
tions. 

"First.  I  shall  not  permit  you  to  seek  a  di- 
vorce from  me,  even  though  I  shall  at  once  desert 
you  for  all  the  days  of  your  life  and  mine. 

"I  choose  that  your  crime  shall  be  its  own 
punishment  and  that  every  day  you  live  with  your 
concubine  you  will  do  so  with  the  knowledge  that 
a  sword  of  righteous  vengeance  is  always  impend- 
ing. You  know  that  my  fortune  is  great  and  I 
warn  you  that  it  will  be  the  means  of  keeping  a 
constant  watch  upon  you  everywhere  and  all  the 
time. 

"I  will  not  permit  a  divorce,  because  that 
would  leave  you  free  to  go  on  in  lust  into  multiple 
illegal  polygamy  if  you  could  thus  rid  yourself  of 
your  legal  wife.  I  know  your  nature  and  you 
would  do  so  if  you  could. 

' '  Second.  You  shall  not  have  another  woman 
sealed  to  you.  If  you  do,  your  crime  will  forth- 
with be  revealed  and  punished.  I  choose,  notwith- 
standing her  baseness  and  joint  treachery  with 
you,  that  your  present  illegal  wife  shall  not  be 
superseded  by  a  newer  object  of  your  uncontrolled 
passions. 


A  KIGHTEOUS  VENGEANCE  39 

"  Third.  You  shall  not  attempt  to  see  me  or 
write  to  me  or  ever  to  see  my  babe.  We  are  going 
into  a  new  life,  where  a  higher  civilization  than 
Mormondom  exists,  and  where  lust  is  sin,  and  is 
not  excused  as  a  religious  duty  or  privilege. 

''Fourth.  I  am  going  to  put  all  my  property 
into  a  trust  fund,  which  will  so  dispose  of  it  that 
you  can  never  receive  one  cent  of  it,  but  so  that  I 
and  my  child  can  live  reasonably,  and  the  rest 
shall  be  devoted  to  a  purpose  which  I  hope  in 
future  years  will  arouse  decent  Mormons  to  the 
forsaking  of  their  ill-founded  faith  and  to  join 
in  higher  spirituality  those  who  would  uplift  all 
the  world  through  a  rational  religion  which  all 
men  can  accept. 

"Finally.  I  shall  teach  my  child  that  its 
father  was  wholly  unworthy  and  that  it  must  grow 
in  spirituality  if  it  would  escape  the  doom  of 
heredity.  I  hope  and  pray  that  it  may  be  in  its 
nature  a  Snowson  and  not  a  Flesher,  and  whenever 
it  can  be  done  legally  I  will  have  its  name  changed 
to  Snowson,  so  that  the  dishonor  of  your  name 
shall  only  attach  to  me. 

"  I  do  not  envy  you,  Hyrum  Flesher.  Your  sin 
has  found  you  out  and  you  are  utterly  unworthy 
of  forgiveness.  I  am  glad  to  know  now  that  I 
never  really  loved  you. 

' '  Good-by  forever, 
"NAOMI  SNOWSON  FLESHER." 

When  Hyrum  Flesher  returned  to  Salt  Lake 
City  several  weeks  later,  he  found  that  Naomi  had 
departed  for  Capitolton,  where  the  Cathertons 
lived.  He  found  strangers  in  Naomi's  home,  to 
whom  she  had  sold  it.  His  threatened  doom  al- 


40  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

ways  thereafter  confronted  him  and  he  often 
cursed  in  impotent  rage  the  girl  who  had  outwitted 
his  base  plan. 

For  five  years  he  lived  a  life  of  shady  scheming 
and  plotting  to  get  wealth  and  then  died  of 
smallpox. 

It  happened  that  his  polygamous  consort  had 
borne  him  a  girl  child.  She  dared  not  give  it 
Hyrum's  name  for  fear  she  would  be  included  in 
the  sweep  of  vengeance  which  impended  over 
Hyrum,  so  the  child  bore  the  surname  of  her  own 
family  and  it  was  this  child  who,  as  Julina 
Blyman,  in  the  fitting  web  of  heredity,  became 
the  voluptuous  creature  whose  sensual  passion 
supremely  aided  in  the  downfall  of  the  Mormon 
religion. 

Conceive  of  the  strange  spinning  of  the  three 
goddesses  which  brought  the  most  destructive 
blow  to  Mormonism  from  inside  its  walls  through 
the  sensuality  of  a  daughter  of  Hyrum  Flesher, 
and  which,  from  outside  its  walls,  also  brought 
high  spiritual  faith  and  hope  to  those  who  forsook 
the  Mormon  religion,  through  the  moral  genius  of 
a  son  of  Hyrum  Flesher.  It  was  the  blood  of 
Hyrum  which  dominated  his  daughter  and  it  was 
the  soul  of  Naomi  which  uplifted  his  son. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  CAVE  MAN". 

OME  into  my  cave  and  escape  the  wrath 
of  the  tempest."  It  was  a  young  man 
who  spoke  and  he  addressed  two  young 
ladies  whose  costumes  betrayed  the  pedestrian 
type  of  young  womanhood  which  every  Spring  and 
Fall  for  more  than  half  a  century  has  found 
health  and  pleasure  in  long  walks  from  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  University  at  Capitolton  along  the 
south  shores  of  beautiful  Lake  Memsota. 

The  huge,  rapidly-mountaing  storm  clouds  had 
already  caused  Marie  Templeton  and  Faith  Win- 
throp  to  look  anxiously  for  shelter,  but  they 
chanced  to  be  some  distance  from  a  farm  house 
and  near  one  of  the  rocky  bluffs  which  jut  up 
occasionally  not  far  from  the  lake,  so  no  shelter 
except  some  trees  was  at  hand,  and  trees  are  poor 
shelter  in  a  heavy  storm  in  that  vicinity. 

Just  as  Darwin  Snowson  spoke,  a  blinding 
flash  of  lightning,  followed  quickly  by  a  heavy 
crash  of  thunder,  forewarned  the  trio  of  the  imme- 
diate dominance  of  the  storm  king. 

''Lead  us  to  your  shelter,  Mr.  Cave  Man,"  said 
Faith  Winthrop, '  *  and  do  it  quickly,  for  the  deluge 
is  at  hand,"  followed  Marie. 

Darwin  Snowson  loved  every  foot  of  the 
ground  around  Lake  Memsota.  From  his  early 
boyhood  he  had  haunted  its  low  hills  and  glades 
and  forests  and  farms.  He  knew  every  bay  which 

41 


42  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

indented  the  shores  of  the  lake  and  every  jutting 
point  of  land  which  beautified  its  coast  line. 

That  morning  in  June,  1933,  he  had  sought  to 
renew  the  joys  of  his  boyhood  and  his  university 
days  by  visiting  some  of  his  old  haunts,  after  an 
absence  of  two  years  spent  in  post-graduate  work 
in  philosophical  studies  at  a  great  European 
university. 

Was  it  mere  chance,  or  was  it  something  which 
lies  deeper  in  the  scheme  of  things,  which  had 
impelled  him  to  seek  the  cavern  which  fifty  years 
before  had  been  made  in  extracting  rock  by  the 
owner  of  a  quarry,  now  long  abandoned,  and 
which,  in  his  boyhood  days,  had  served  Darwin 
well,  not  only  as  the  cavern  in  which  Ali  Baba  and 
the  Forty  Thieves  had  held  their  secret  councils, 
but  also  as  the  cave  of  Black  Hawk,  the  great 
Indian  Chief,  who  actually  had  roamed  the  same 
lovely  woods  and  whose  canoe  had  sped  across  the 
beautiful  lake? 

Do  not  answer  the  question  asked  you  too  soon, 
for  Darwin  Snowson  and  Faith  Winthrop  had 
looked  into  each  other's  eyes. 

From  where  the  three  stood  Darwin  led  the 
girls  quickly  down  a  little  trail,  around  a  point  of 
the  bluff,  apparently  straight  into  a  cluster  of 
bushes,  but,  just  as  they  reached  the  shrubs,  he 
moved  aside  the  low-hanging  branches  of  a  tree 
and,  disclosing  the  wide  mouth  of  the  cavern,  he 
said: 

1  'It's  sacred  ground;  but  you  are  welcome  to 
share  it  with  me.  In  bygone  days  it  was  some- 
times an  enchanted  cave  of  Arabia  to  me,  and 
sometimes  the  redskins'  secret  haunt,  and  once 


THE  CAVE  MAN  43 

proved  good  shelter  during  just  another  such 
storm  as  we  are  escaping. ' ' 

Then  the  deluge  descended  and  while  the  open- 
ing flashings  and  crashings  of  heaven's  artillery 
were  blinding  the  eyes  and  stunning  the  ears,  as 
only  such  a  storm  in  the  Middle  West  can  do, 
scarcely  a  word  was  spoken  by  the  three  in  the 
cavern,  except  to  call  attention  to  a  startling  flash, 
or  an  unusually  terrific  peal  of  thunder. 

After  a  while  the  vented  electricity  seemed  to 
relieve  the  magnetic  surcharge  in  the  clouds,  and 
only  the  heavy  downpour  of  the  rain  could  be 
heard  coming  from  outside  their  shelter. 

Then  up  spoke  Marie,  the  vivacious :  '  *  Good- 
ness, I'm  glad  we  found  you.  We  would  have  been 
soaked.  But  this  storm  isn't  going  to  quit  soon, 
and  I  propose  that  we  resort  to  the  emergency 
rations. ' ' 

Whereupon  she  produced  from  a  pocket  inside 
her  pretty  sweater  coat  a  considerable  package 
of  nut  milk  chocolate,  which  the  girls  were  wont  to 
take  with  them  on  their  tramping  trips  as  a  suffi- 
cient luncheon. 

Before  proffering  the  confection,  which  is  a 
real  food,  to  the  landlord  of  their  refuge,  Marie 
again  spoke  up  in  her  own  inimitable  way,  and 
said: 

"Mr.  Cave  Man,  when  my  friend  and  I  were 
freshmen  in  dear  old  Vassar,  where  we  spent  two 
years,  our  little  debating  circle  agreed,  after  grave 
discussion,  that  the  ordinary  conventionalities  of 
life  must  not  infrequently  be  set  aside  and  human 
beings  act  naturally,  as  circumstances  arise.  Now 
that  we  are  Seniors  in  the  University  at  Capitol- 


44  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

ton  and  about  to  get  our  sheepskins,  of  course  our 
dignity  is  something  to  admire,  but  I  feel  that  to 
a  rescuer,  who  has  saved  us  from  almost  drowning 
in  the  awful  downpour  outside,  even  our  haughty 
spirits  should  make  some  concessions,  and  there- 
fore— please  note  my  logical  conclusion — before 
we  break  bread,  if  nut  cholocate  can  be  included 
in  that  generic  term,  I  would  like  to  ask  you  your 
name  so  that  I  may  introduce  you  to  my  own 
college  chum. ' ' 

Throughout  this  little  speech  Darwin  Snowson 
had  listened  with  twinkling  eyes,  but  in  a  manner 
so  truly  deferential  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  his 
good  breeding. 

When  Marie  had  concluded,  he  smilingly  said : 
"I  am  Darwin  Snowson  and  I  graduated  from  the 
University  in  '30.  You  must  have  come  there  in 
the  Fall  after  the  June  in  which  I  finished.  So 
through  the  University  we  have  at  least  one  com- 
mon social  bond." 

If  the  answer  to  her  question  had  not  required 
Darwin  to  look  straight  at  Marie  he  would  have 
detected  a  noticeable  startling  of  Faith  Winthrop 
when  he  announced  his  name,  for  Faith  then  knew 
that  he  was  the  son  of  a  Mormon  father  and  of  a 
mother  who  had  been  a  Mormon  in  bygone  days. 

The  effect  of  this  knowledge  weaves  its  threads 
through  the  warp  and  woof  of  all  the  rest  of  this 
story.  Darwin  Snowson,  however,  did  not  become 
aware  that  Faith  knew  his  lineage  for  some  time 
thereafter. 

"Mr.  Snowson,  I  am  Marie  Templeton  of  Dil- 
walkie  and  this  is  Faith  Winthrop,  formerly  of 
puritan  Massachusetts,  but  now  of  Capitolton." 


THE  CAVE  MAN  45 

Again  Darwin  and  Faith  had  looked  straight 
into  each  other's  eyes. 

Did  the  arrows  of  fate  glance  aside  instead  of 
forever  determining  the  destiny  of  these  two? 

A  son  of  a  Mormon  and  a  daughter  of  purest 
puritan,  Mayflower  blood,  what  could  justify  a 
future  surrender  of  the  maid  to  the  man? 

*  *  Ting-a-ling-a-ling — supper's  ready — we  have 
sissiges  and  spinge  cake,"  thus  Marie  agair*— 
then  adding,  "Mr.  Snowson,  if  your  boyhood  edu- 
cation was  along  the  proper  lines  your  mouth  is 
watering  for  some  of  this  ration,  and  as  I  confess 
to  a  good  appetite  for  all  meals  and  chummy  is 
the  same,  I  guess  we'd  better  get  busy." 

So,  laughing  and  chatting  and  sometimes 
lightly  touching  graver  things,  the  young  people 
for  three  hours  of  that  afternoon  from  their  cav- 
ern shelter  watched  the  heavily  descending  rain, 
then  a  strong,  warm  wind  drove  the  clouds  from 
out  of  the  sky  and  the  rain  ceased. 

Homeward  to  Capitolton  through  the  mud 
trudged  the  seasoned  pedestrians.  While  they 
sturdily  stride  off  the  miles  with  the  free  swing 
of  the  experienced  in  walking  let  us  glance  at  them 
for  a  moment. 

Marie  Templeton,  scarce  the  average  height  of 
American  women,  with  a  bright,  piquant  face  and 
a  graceful  form,  was  full  of  the  charm  which 
vivacity  and  culture  give.  Her  little  college  con- 
quests, harmless  but  interesting,  were  numbered 
by  the  dozen.  As  she  appears  again  in  our  story 
it  is  safe  to  predict  in  advance  that  her  under- 
lying common  sense  will  insure  her  happiness, 
just  as  it  has  served  to  aid  great  numbers  of  at- 


46  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

tractive  American  girls  to  become  the  queens  of 
happy  homes  despite  the  innocent  little  affairs  of 
adolescence  which  come  as  tributes  to  their  charm- 
ing ways. 

Faith  Winthrop  had  an  arresting  face.  One 
who  dealt  in  phrases  once  said:  "Faith  is  the 
true  American  patrician.  Heredity  and  good 
breeding  have  stamped  her  face  and  form  with 
the  nobility  of  refinement  and  graciousness  har- 
monically united  with  sure  evidences  of  mental 
and  moral  strength." 

Tall  and  moderately  slender,  her  whole  appear- 
ance universally  compelled  the  use  of  the  much 
abused  word  "beautiful,"  to  describe  this  girl  of 
twenty-two. 

As  for  Darwin  Snowson,  he  had  known  from 
the  very  first  that  he  had  now  met  the  one  girl 
of  all  the  world  who  could  fill  his  heart's  desire. 

The  great  hope  of  Darwin's  mother  had  been 
fulfilled.  He  was  a  Snowson,  not  a  Flesher. 
Five  feet  eleven,  formed  like  a  lithe  athlete,  his 
figure  attracted  by  its  symmetry.  But  his  face 
disclosed  best  the  redemption  from  degenerate 
paternity.  Clean  cut,  forceful  and  intellectual, 
yet  there  was  something  in  his  countenance  which 
went  beyond  all  these.  Even  now  the  impress  of 
high  resolve,  which  later  illumined  his  whole  bear- 
ing, appeared  in  frequent  expression.  Were  he 
not  of  Mormon  blood,  who  would  deny  his  right 
to  seek  life  happiness  with  Faith  Winthrop? 

As  the  three  neared  the  Winthrop  home,  Faith 
said:  "Mr.  Snowson,  I  have  met  your  mother 
and  Mrs.  Stanwood,  Mrs.  Eleanor  Catherton 
Stanwood,  I  mean,  is  my  aunt." 


THE  CAVE  MAN  47 

It  was  thus  that  Darwin  learned  from  Faith 
that  to  meet  her  again  and  frequently  was  inevita- 
ble and  he  secretly  rejoiced,  for  Mrs.  Stanwood 
had  been  his  best  friend,  next  to  his  mother, 
through  all  his  life,  and  her  father,  now  well  ad- 
vanced in  years,  from  boyhood  had  been  his 
inspiration,  his  intellectual  guide  and  his  ethical 
teacher. 

Naomi  always,  in  her  secret  soul,  reverted  to 
that  day  of  fate  in  Santa  Cruz  when  Eleanor  had 
saved  her  life,  and  hallowed  it ;  and  well  she  might, 
for  through  the  rescue  of  that  day,  her  son  was 
placed  in  the  environment  and  with  the  compan- 
ions best  fitted  to  inspire  him  to  carry  out  the 
dream  of  her  life,  the  redemption  of  the  Mormon 
people  from  their  ill-founded  ancestral  religion. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

HOW  THE  BELOVED  PHILOSOPHER  CAME. 

DOWN  the  mountain  trail  at  sunset  came  the 
Philosopher. 
It  was   mid-summer   and  the   rustic, 
roomy  bungalow  chalet  (for  it  combined  the  archi- 
tecture  of  both),   owned   by   Darwin    Snowson, 
which  occupied  exclusively  a  picturesque  glade 
high  up  in  the  Wasatch  Mountains,  at  once  ar- 
rested the  attention  of  the  traveler.    He  foresaw 
shelter  for  the  night  and  perhaps  good  compan- 
ionship. 

"Splendid  manhood,"  was  the  least  tribute 
paid  to  this  vigorous  mountain  climber.  Appar- 
ently about  forty-five  years  of  age,  none  could  fail 
to  be  impressed  with  his  remarkable  personality. 

To  Darwin  and  the  six  descendants  of  former 
Mormon  leaders,  whom  he  had  quietly  gathered  in 
his  chalet  for  consultation,  the  Philosopher  came 

as  a  gleam  from  the  Eternal  Light. 

*      *      * 

It  chanced  that  Robert  Young,  Lincoln  Smith, 
Waldemar  Grant,  Nephi  Woodruff,  Mahonri  Tay- 
lor and  Mathonihah  Cowley  were  regenerated 
descendants  of  the  bluest  blood  of  Mormondom. 

In  1911  the  first  great  break  of  the  solidarity 
of  the  Utah  branch  of  the  Mormon  organization 
occurred.  It  was  the  truths  of  Evolutionary  Sci- 
ence which  caused  the  revolt  of  a  number  of  the 
Faculty  and  a  large  number  of  the  Students  of  the 

48 


THE  BELOVED  PHILOSOPHER         49 

leading  Mormon  educational  institution  against 
the  infallibility  of  the  priesthood  and  against  the 
teachings  of  the  church,  which  conflicted  with  the 
facts  of  science. 

From  this  little  insurrection  had  grown  up  a 
constantly  increasing  number  of  educated  young 
men  and  women  who  quietly  forsook  the  Mormon 
religion,  but  the  great  mass  of  the  Mormon  people, 
while  more  intelligent  and  better  educated  in  1933 
than  in  1911,  had  not  yet  been  roused  to  a  realiza- 
tion of  the  inherent  degeneracy  and  untruthful- 
ness  of  their  creed. 

*  *      * 

Darwin  Snowson  had  come  to  Utah  almost 
immediately  after  the  events  narrated  in  the  last 
chapter. 

It  was  Eleanor  Stanwood  who  inspired  his 
journey.  Although  he  had  long  known  his  moth- 
er's cherished  hope  that  he  would  lead  in  the 
redemption  of  the  people  of  her  father's  faith,  as 
yet  no  definite  plan  had  been  matured. 

*  *      # 

It  was  only  a  few  days  after  Darwin  and  Faith 
Winthrop  had  first  met  that  the  former  spent  a 
rainy  day  afternoon  with  Eleanor  Stanwood.  It 
was  inevitable  that  Faith  Winthrop  should  be 
spoken  of  between  Darwin  'and  Faith's  Aunt 
Eleanor.  It  was  also  characteristic  of  the  young 
man  that  he  frankly  told  to  this  best  friend  that 
if  it  were  not  for  his  Mormon  descent  he  would 
try  to  win  Faith,  but  that  he  realized  that  one  of 
Faith's  lineage  might  shun  a  son  of  Hyrum 
Flesher  as  though  he  bore  the  bar  sinister. 


50  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

As  in  the  days  of  his  mother's  greatest  trial, 
Eleanor  had  been  the  inspiration  of  the  better  fate 
for  Naomi,  so  now  her  sympathetic  heart  offered 
to  Darwin  the  ray  of  hope  which  was  to  burn  in 
his  soul,  sometimes  brightly  and  sometimes  feebly, 
until  the  tragic  end  whither  his  destined  foot- 
steps led. 

"Darwin,  son  of  my  dearest  friend,  there  is 
naught  in  the  character  of  your  sweet  mother,  nor 
in  your  own  which  resembles  hers,  that  could  stand 
as  a  barrier  to  your  heart's  desire;  but,  because 
Hyrum  Flesher  was  your  father,  you  must  pay 
the  debt  of  heredity.  Faith's  father  and  mother 
greatly  value  honorable  descent.  It  might  well 
happen,  Darwin,  that  Faith  may  grow  to  love  you, 
but  if  out  of  a  great  duty  you  could  bring  to  her 
the  accomplishment  of  an  uplift  of  many  of  those 
who  still  live  in  the  darkness  of  ignorant  faith, 
in  your  ancestral  state,  don't  you  think  the  debt 
of  heredity  would  be  paid  in  full !  I  do,  my  dear 
boy ;  and  I  am  not  betraying  Faith  when  I  tell  you 
that  there  is  no  other  who  occupies  her  heart  and 
she  is  interested  in  you." 

Darwin  had  met  Faith  several  times  in  the  few 
days  which  intervened  between  their  introduction 
in  the, cavern  and  his  talk  with  Eleanor  Stanwood. 
Commencement  week  at  the  University  threw  an 
alumnus  of  '30,  who  had  not  only  won  honors  in 
his  closing  year  at  the  University,  but  also  gained 
a  high  reputation  in  his  post-graduate  work  in 
Europe,  into  a  number  of  the  graduating  activi- 
ties of  Faith's  class. 

Marie  Templeton  had  quietly  observed,  with- 
out comment  to  anyone  except  Aunt  Eleanor, 


THE  BELOVED  PHILOSOPHER         51 

that  Faith  and  Darwin  were  mutually  attracted 
towards  each  other,  and  so  Aunt  Eleanor  had 
sought  and  received  Faith's  confidence. 

She  knew  that  Faith  was  deeply  interested  in 
Darwin,  but  she  knew  also  that  his  Mormon  de- 
scent troubled  the  maid. 

It  was  the  night  before  he  left  for  Utah  that 
Darwin  made  a  farewell  call  on  Faith.  It  was 
then  he  told  her  of  his  mission  and  his  hopes  of  its 
accomplishment.  Necessarily  his  plans  of  action 
were  somewhat  nebulous  and  he  made  this  plain  to 
Faith.  Faith  had  known  from  the  very  first  that 
Darwin  looked  at  her  with  eyes  of  devotion.  She 
frankly  told  him  that  she  would  hope  for  his  suc- 
cess and  would  be  much  interested  in  learning  of 
his  work. 

Darwin,  without  any  verbal  expression  of  sen- 
timent, replied:  "I  would  be  very  pleased  to 
write  you  personally  of  all  that  happens  in  Utah 
if  you  would  care  to  have  me,  and  would  like  to 
have  you  write  me  of  all  that  you  think  is  mutually 
interesting  of  the  University  and  the  people  of 
Capitolton." 

Faith's  gracious  permission  afterwards  led 
Darwin  to  one  of  the  hardest  tests  of  his  life,  but 
at  the  time  it  was  granted  his  heart  glowed  with 

hope  of  the  future. 

*      *      * 

The  night  the  Philosopher  came  to  Darwin 
Snowson's  mountain  home  will  dwell  until  death 
in  the  memory  of  each  of  the  seven  young  men 
who  welcomed  the  traveler  and  the  seven  days 
which  followed  are  hallowed  days  to  all  of  them. 


52  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Darwin  had  known  Robert  Young,  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Brigham  Young,  for  several  years. 
He  knew  that  Robert  had  never  been  a  Mormon, 
but  nevertheless  was  the  son  of  a  grandson  of  the 
great  organizer  of  the  Mormon  hierarchy. 

This  grandson  had  from  boyhood  rejected  the 
Mormon  faith  and  had  attained  a  responsible  posi- 
tion in  editorial  work  on  one  of  the  Nation's 
great  newspapers. 

Some  months  before  Darwin's  advent,  Robert 
had  gone  to  Salt  Lake  City  from  his  father's 
Eastern  home  to  look  up  some  rights  of  property 
for  his  father.  Darwin  met  him  soon  after  his 
arrival  in  "Zion,"  as  the  City  of  the  Salt  Sea  is 
called  by  Mormons. 

The  young  men  had  much  in  common,  both 
highly  educated,  both  morally  clean,  and  both 
wishing  and  hoping  that  the  light  of  science  might 
shine  into  the  faith-darkened  souls  of  the  orthodox 
Mormons. 

Through  Robert,  Darwin  rapidly  met  the  other 
five  young  men  who  formed  the  party  at  Highland 
Cove,  where  Darwin  had  bought  the  land  and  the 
Chalet,  because  there,  during  the  midsummer  heat, 
they  could  secretly  discuss  and  plan  the  ways  by 
which  the  devotees  of  their  ancestral  religion 
could  be  brought  to  see  that  the  old  faith  was 
worthless  and  that  a  new  faith  based  on  Reason 
and  Science,  of  eternal  necessity,  must  be  the  only 
true  faith. 

When  the  Philosopher  stepped  on  the  wide 
porch  of  the  bungalow  Darwin  met  him  with  as- 
tonished, shining  eyes  and  outstretched  hand. 
Years  before,  while  scarce  out  of  boyhood,  Darwin 


THE  BELOVED  PHILOSOPHER         53 

had  heard  an  address  on  "  Purposive  Goodness, 
Manifested  in  Cosmic  Evolution,"  and  it  proved  a 
veritable  trumpet  call  to  the  souls  of  evolutionists 
to  awaken  to  the  scientific  truths  that  God  is  de- 
monstrably  found  as  the  Power  in  the  Universe 
which  makes  for  Righteousness  and  that  the  race 
of  man  is  climbing  an  upward  pathway  morally, 
under  the  direct  and  constant  impulse  of  that 
Power. 

The  Philosopher  had  not  especially  noted  in 
his  audience  the  eager-eyed  youth  who  found  re- 
ligious rest  in  the  sane,  inspiring  rationality  of 
that  address,  but  the  lad  could  never  forget  the 
prophet  of  Science  who  had  thus  satisfied  his  soul. 

Because  you  now  know  him  as  the  foremost 
teacher  of  that  religion,  which  is  called  "The  Re- 
ligion of  Progress"  by  its  believers,  he  need  not 
be  named,  and  because  ever  afterward  the  seven, 
in  deepest  affection,  called  him  the  Beloved  Phil- 
osopher, so  he  shall  remain  through  the  unfolding 
of  the  great  events  in  which  the  impulse  of  his 
soul  moved  in  dominant  sway, 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MESSAGE  TO  THE  SEVEN. 

THE  night  was  cloudless  and  serene.  The 
massive  granite  turrets  of  the  Wasatch 
projected  into  the  wonderfully  glittering 
starry  vault  their  barren  glacial  scarred  summits. 
Around  the  Philosopher,  who  sat  in  an  easy  chair 
on  the  sward  in  front  of  the  bungalow,  gathered 
the  Seven. 

Darwin  then  told  of  the  hopes  and  dreams  of 
the  young  men  for  the  redemption  of  Mormondom 
and  how  as  yet  no  effective  plan  to  educate  the 
Mormon  masses  to  the  higher  truths  had  been 
worked  out  by  them. 

With  his  gaze  fixed  on  Polaris,  the  star  of  the 
North,  the  Philosopher  spoke  not  for  a  time,  while 
the  Seven  silently  awaited  the  answer  to  Darwin's 
request  for  counsel. 

Then  that  mountain  glade  grew  vibrant  with 
a  marvelous  psychic  force. 

The  voice  of  the  Philosopher,  clear  and  softly 
resonant,  ceased  not  its  great  message  to  the 
Seven  until  long  past  the  midnight  hour,  but  the 
countenances  of  his  listeners  became  wonderfully 
serene  and  exalted  as  the  glory  and  wisdom  and 
redeeming  power  of  that  message  grew  into  their 
souls. 

That  night  was  born  that  fateful  instrument, 
"The  Society  of  Progress,"  which,  by  its  guarded 
secrecy,  thereafter  baffled  the  Mormon  priesthood, 

54 


THE  PHILOSOPHEK'S  MESSAGE       55 

and,  by  its  exalted  ritual,  gradually  taught  in  a 
marvelously  simple  way  the  best  of  the  Mormon 
youth  throughout  all  Mormondom  the  vital  truths 
of  Science  and  the  great  religious  import  of  these 

truths. 

*  *      * 

Darwin  Snowson  thus  wrote  Faith  of  the 
luminous  revelations  which  came  into  the  souls  of 
the  Seven  that  night: 

"The  Beloved  Philosopher,  in  words  which 
flamed,  first  led  us  deeply  into  all  the  philosophic 
lore  of  Science  which  leads  backward  and  forever 
backward,  in  the  unbreakable  chain  of  cause  and 
effect,  until,  in  the  solemn  night,  he  brought  our 
souls,  through  an  infinity  of  Time,  at  last  to  The 
Great  First  Cause — The  Uncaused  Cause,  The 
Cause  which  is  Infinite,  and,  because  of  its  Infin- 
ity, cannot  be  clothed  with  attributes  by  finite 
beings,  except,  as  they  rationally  can  deduce  from 
the  Cosmos,  both  as  a  material  universe  and  as  a 
psychic  universe,  and  from  the  courses  of  all  Evo- 
lution, as  revealed  by  Science,  certain  high  spirit- 
ual truths  which  lead  straight  to  God,  to  the 
Infinite  One,  and  disclose  Him  as  the  Power  which 
makes  for  Eighteousness  in  our  world  and  in  all 

the  worlds  of  space,  and  in  our  own  souls." 

#  *      * 

* '  Then  again  he  lifted  his  head  to  the  stars  and 
the  wonderful  story  of  the  stellar  universe  with 
its  untold  millions  of  flaming  suns  and  its  bound- 
less space  and  its  ceaseless  organic  changes,  un- 
folded before  us,  in  marvelous  clearness,  as  part 
of  the  great  Process,  which,  from  an  infinity  of  the 
past  to  an  infinity  of  the  future,  has  evidenced  and 


56  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

will  evidence  the  birth  and  death  of  suns,  and 
planets,  satellites  and  comets,  and  nebulae,  all  the 
inorganic  realm  of  the  Cosmos." 

#  *      # 

"Then  in  his  great  drama  came  our  world,  a 
mere  fragment  of  the  material  of  which  suns  are, 
by  immutable  law,  created ;  a  speck  in  the  infinite 
cosmic,  ethereal  sea,  and  yet  one  of  the  realms 
of  intellectual  and  spiritual  life  within  God's  great 

Cosmic  Plan." 

»      #      # 

"Truth  inspired,  in  the  simplicity  of  a  knowl- 
edge so  profound  as  to  be  unincumbered  with 
technical  language,  he  told  the  great  story  of  the 
Bocks,  the  truthful  revelations  of  Geology,  revela- 
tions which  every  one  who  dares  to  ask  the  true 
origin  of  our  earth  and  the  time  through  which  it 
passed  from  its  whirling  in  intensest  heat  into 
spherical  form  down  to  the  appearance  upon  it  of 
the  earliest  physical  life,  must  find  answer  in 
a  thousand  indubitable  proofs  that  the  Earth 
came  to  its  separate  astronomical  identity  solely 
through  Natural  Processes  and  then,  hitching  its 
Cosmic  impulses  to  our  sun,  it  swung  on  in  its  orbit 
around  the  sun  for  years,  which  only  many  mil- 
lions will  measure,  before  any  life  existed  upon  it. 

*  #      * 

"Obeying  the  primal  evolutionary  law  of  all 
growth,  that  is,  'from  the  relatively  simple  to  the 
relatively  complex,'  with  great  slowness  the  earth 
cooled  on  its  surface  and  then  its  vast  seas  became 
fitted  for  its  early  simple  forms  of  life,  the  minute 
single-celled  creatures." 


THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MESSAGE       57 

"That  physical  life  came  also  as  a  natural 
thing  in  the  great  Plan,  and  as  much  a  product  of 
Cosmic  Law,  as  is  any  material  object,  he  did  not 
doubt,  and  he  told  of  the  scientific  experiments  of 
a  quarter  of  a  century  tending  to  show  that  by 
natural  law  there  exists  a  link  of  lineage  between 
the  inorganic  and  the  organic,  which,  under  the 
developing  conditions  of  the  process,  probably 
evolves  some  type  of  physical  life  everywhere  in 
the  Cosmos  under  like  conditions  to  those  which 

germinated  it  here  on  earth." 

*  *       * 

' 'In  wonderful  review  he  then  marshaled  the 
evolution  of  physical  life  upon  our  planet.  Invok- 
ing again  the  pages  of  one  of  God's  real  revela- 
tions to  men,  the  irrefutable  testimony  of  Earth's 
rock  strata,  and  the  fossils  therein,  which  spell 
out  the  marvelous  story  he  told  of  the  wonderfully 
prolific,  relatively  simple,  minute  forms  of  life 
which  first  evolved,  peopling  the  seas  in  such 
myriads  as  to  form  enormous  beds  of  rocks  out  of 
their  charnel  houses ;  physical  life  thus  early  in 
its  history  yielding  to  the  inorganic  its  aid  in 
world-building  as  it  has  since  in  many  ways  and 
many  forms,  and  as  it  does  always  when  physical 

life  becomes  physical  death." 

*  *      * 

"From  monera  and  amoeba,  the  simplest 
forms  of  life,  to  the  early  evolved  fishes  and  rep- 
tiles, then  on  and  on,  in  the  millions  of  years 
before  the  period  of  man,  whilst  under  the  sway 
of  natural  law,  the  vegetable  kingdom  arose  and 
flourished  in  gigantic  rankness  and  there  evolved 
huge  creatures  of  earth  and  water  and  air  which 


58 

attempted,  as  "the  fittest,"  to  survive,  but  found 
few  of  the  gigantic  types  which  did  not  perish, 
the  Beloved  Philosopher,  pictured  to  us  the  con- 
tinuing tale  of  the  Rocks  and  the  correlative 
proofs  which  biology  reveals. ' ' 


"At  last  in  the  chain  of  living  things  the  crea- 
ture of  superior  intelligence  evolved:  Man,  the 
animal  which  walked  upright,  and  used  its  arms 
and  its  hands  and  its  brain  for  defense  and  for 
service ;  Man,  the  creature  which  became  endowed 
with  the  power  to  rationally  choose  his  actions." 

*  *  The  Beloved  Philosopher  did  not  disguise  the 
mystery  which  surrounds  the  acquisition  by  the 
psychic  personality  of  the  individual  man  of  the 
power  and  impulses  of  moral  growth ;  but,  before 
he  ceased  his  marvelously  luminous  oratory,  he 
assembled  in  powerful  logic  the  array  of  all  the 
salient  facts  disclosed  by  Science  respecting  Man, 
his  origin,  and  his  destiny,  and  gave  to  us,  who 
listened  with  uplifted  souls,  the  high  spiritual  im- 
plications which  rationality  now  proffers  to  con- 
vince that  in  a  co-ordinate  psychic  universe  as 
Cosmic  as  the  physical  universe,  by  preordained 
design,  from  The  Infinite  First  Cause  comes  both 
the  "free  will"  of  man  and  the  impulse  to  seek 
righteousness,  all  as  part  of  the  Great  Cosmic 
Plan." 

#      *      * 

"But  when  he  spoke  of  man  as  an  animal,  with 
proofs  that  rational  beings  cannot  truthfully  deny 
or  discredit,  he  asserted  the  physical  cosmic  kin- 
ship of  humanity  with  a  chain  of  animal  life  which 


THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MESSAGE       59 

went  straight  back  to  the  single  cell  life  of  the 
primeval  seas. 

"He  denied  absolutely  the  mental  honesty  of 
any  man  who  would  seek  the  truth  and  array  the 
facts  shown  by  geology,  embryology,  biology  and 
anthropology,  and  then  asserts  that  the  human 
being,  as  an  animal,  is  a  separate  creation.  He 
asserted  that  such  a  man  must  have  some  ulterior 
motive  other  than  the  truth  to  pervert  his  judg- 
ment; such  a  motive  as  the  bolstering  up  of  a 
religion  which  would  be  destroyed  by  the  suprem- 
acy of  truth." 

#  #      * 

"Then  came  the  history  of  man.  Evolved 
many,  many  thousands  of  years  ago,  probably 
more  than  fifty  thousand,  possibly  two  hundred 
thousand  years,  or  even  half  a  million  years,  the 
Tale  of  the  Rocks  places  him  first,  far  backward 
of  the  time  when  as  a  lowly  ignorant  type  he 
hunted  and  slew  the  prehistoric  creatures  which 
roamed  the  land,  when  Britain  and  France  and 
most  of  Continental  Europe  were  tropical  in  cli- 
mate and  no  sea  surged  between  England  and  the 
Continent.  The  long  ages,  which  the  Rocks  assert 
must  have  passed  since  the  day  of  the  early  cave 
dweller  down  to  the  first  of  the  records  we  have 
today,  are  blank  with  written  history,  but  eloquent 
with  the  truths  of  scientific  research.  A  multitude 
of  proofs  tell  the  story  to  those  who  wish  the 

Truth  and  will  search  for  it." 

*  *      * 

"Again  his  eloquence  flamed,  as  he  reverted  to 
the  personality  of  man,  and  by  philosophy  and 
science  demonstrated  that  neither  the  body,  nor 


60  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

the  brain,  constitutes  the  individual,  but  that  these 
physical  instruments  merely  act  as  the  earthly 
machinery  which  personality  uses  while  embodied. 
He  admitted  frankly  that  the  animal  inheritance 
has  many  potent  influences  upon  human  character 
and  that  the  association  is  very  intimate  between 
personality  and  the  ever-changing  cells  which 
make  up  the  body  and  brain ;  but,  because  person- 
ality is  a  developing  unit  during  all  of  earthly  life 
and  many  of  the  groups  of  body  cells  may  be 
entirely  eliminated  from  the  physical  machine 
without  altering  its  efficiency  as  the  instrument  of 
personality,  and  because  body  and  brain  cells  die 
daily  and  are  replaced  by  other  cells,  also  through 
many  other  proofs,  he  found  the  sure  deduction 
that  the  spirit  of  man  is  not  a  product  of  the 
physical  kingdom,  but  belongs  to  a  higher  psychic 
and  ethical  realm  which  must  be  supremely  valued 
in  any  scientific  contemplation  of  man  and  his 
destiny.  The  body  must  be  viewed  as  the  machine 
which  dies  and  dissolves  into  its  physical  elements, 
personality  the  psychic  and  spiritual  entity  which 

survives," 

*      *      * 

"In  shining  words,  which  sent  into  our  souls 
the  radiance  of  the  Eternal  Light,  our  Beloved 
Philosopher  continued  his  wonderful  discourse 
with  a  simple,  strong  summation  of  the  higher 
philosophy  of  evolution  which  science  has  grad- 
ually grown  to  understand  in  the  fruitful  years 
since  evolution  received  its  first  great  demonstra- 
tions through  Darwin  and  Spencer  and  Huxley 
and  the  others  of  the  great  group  of  fearless  bril- 
liant scientists  of  the  nineteenth  century,  who 


THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MESSAGE       61 

startled  the  world  with  their  new  scientific  proofs 
of  the  eternal  truths  which  necessarily  upset  many 
ideas  of  those  who  clung  to  indefensible  faith. 

"He  called  upon  us  to  assemble  all  that  science 
has  discovered  of  the  Cosmos,  the  inorganic,  the 
organic,  the  psychic  and  the  ethical  and  to  value 
the  whole  as  evolving,  under  the  reign  of  an  aggre- 
gation of  wonderful  laws  which  govern  and  affect 
not  only  all  matter,  and  all  animal  life,  but  all 
intellectual  progress  and  all  ethical  advancement. 

"Then  he  warned  us  not  to  overvalue  the 
physical  universe  and  its  evolution  and  not  to 
weigh  too  greatly  the  development  and  progress 
of  mere  intellectual  life  in  human  beings.  With 
illumined  face,  he  asserted  that  there  remained  in 
safe  scientific  truth  a  demonstration  which  trans- 
formed the  Cosmos  into  an  infinite  realm  of  Spir- 
itual Life,  with  God,  the  Infinite  One,  as  surely  the 
Creator  of  every  moral  impulse  in  man  as  He  is  of 
the  physical  universe  and  of  the  laws  which  gov- 
ern it." 

*      *      * 

"Then  he  showed,  as  Huxley  demonstrated, 
that  in  the  working  out  of  the  Cosmic  Plan, 
through  the  endowment  of  his  intelligence,  Man 
had  received  the  power  to  change,  in  a  myriad  of 
ways,  the  natural  course  of  terrestrial  physical 
evolution.  How  the  whole  face  of  the  globe  had 
been  altered  with  man's  intelligent  adaptations 
and  modifications  of  plant  life  and  animal  life,  as 
well  as  innumerable  modifications  of  inorganic 
features." 


62  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

'  *  He  next  drew  the  sure  conclusion  that,  though 
surrounded  and  limited  with  a  realm  of  physical 
laws,  humanity,  through  intelligent  choice,  has 
used  and  now  uses  these  laws  to  serve  the  race  of 
mankind  in  a  myriad  of  ways,  and  thus  marks  out 
its  upward  path  in  physical  comfort  and  material 
benefits.  Promising  further  explanation,  he  then 
asserted  that,  though  likewise  subject  to  a  realm 
of  spiritual  laws,  the  human  personality  through 
its  moral  volition,  possessed  the  power  of  ad- 
vancement or  retrogression  in  spirituality. 


5  5 


1  'Drawing  ever  nearer  the  great  import  of  the 
Cosmic  Plan  he  called  upon  us  to  consider  and 
value  the  Spiritual  Evolution  of  Man.  Starting 
with  the  sure  revelation,  which  anyone  can  verify, 
that  the  original  men  and  women  of  our  race  were 
ape-like  and  unethical,  with  but  the  faint  rudi- 
ments of  spiritual  life  stirring  in  their  souls,  in 
wonderful  imagery,  he  traced  the  prehistoric 
proofs  of  the  gradual  rise  of  humanity  in  intelli- 
gence and  in  slowly  developing  spiritual  life. 
Then,  in  swift  review,  he  assembled  the  historical 
evidence  of  the  Ancient  races  and  their  religions 
and  morality.  Groping  towards  the  truth — im- 
pelled to  some  form  of  worship  by  a  force  they  did 
not  understand — developing  slowly  the  rudiments 
of  altruism — sometimes  flowering  into  relative 
civilization,  sometimes  evolving  lofty  conceptions 
of  God — then  sinking  backward  into  barbarism 
and  idolatry,  the  ultimate,  vital  and  overwhelming 
fact  remained  that  the  way  of  mankind  as  shown 
in  its  highest  types  from  the  time  of  the  first 
evolved  of  humanity  down  to  this  day,  broadly 


THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MESSAGE        63 

speaking,  has  been  an  Upward  Way  in  the  devel- 
opment of  higher  spirituality  as  well  as  higher 
intellectual  knowledge  and  this  Upward  Way  is 
achieved  as  part  of  the  great  Cosmic  Plan." 

*      *       * 

"In  solemn,  reverent,  resounding  words  came 
the  Great  Conclusions:  God — The  Infinite  First 
Cause — The  Cause  of  all  Causes — The  Infinite 
Power  Which  pervades  the  Cosmos — The  Infinite 
Intelligence  from  Whom,  the  finite  intelligence  of 
Man  necessarily  must  come — The  Infinite  De- 
signer Who  created  the  Cosmic  Plan* — 'The  In- 
finite and  Eternal  Energy  from  Which  all  things 
proceed' — God  is  also  Purposive  Goodness,  and 
the  Infinite  Spirituality  from  Whom  within  the 
Great  Design  the  Spirit  of  Man  came,  endowed 
with  the  power  of  moral  growth. 

"To  deny  these  conclusions  is  to  stultify 
rationality;  to  admit  them  is  to  spiritualize  the 
Universe  and  reveal  The  Infinite  One  as  spirit- 
ually immanent  in  all  that  exists,  even  our  own 
souls. 

"If  there  be  any  goodness  in  humanity;  if  in- 
tegrity, bravery,  altruism,  moral  worth,  and 
righteousness  have  any  meaning  at  all,  then  rea- 
son is  pushed  to  two  conclusions : 

"First:  That  the  development  of  spiritual 
life  is  the  supreme  object  of  God's  Cosmic  Plan, 
and 

"Second:  That  man,  through  the  volition 
granted  him  in  the  Great  Plan,  has  a  psychic  and 
ethical  personality  which  can  either  grow  in  spir- 
itual righteousness  or  may  degrade  itself. 


64  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"But  the  import  of  the  Great  Plan  now  im- 
pended in  profound  significance — Science  offers 
a  Scientific  Keligious  Faith  based  on  the  revealed 
truths  of  Evolution,  which  every  man  can  verify 
for  himself,  whether  he  be  of  any  other  religious 
faith  or  believes  in  any  other  assumed  revelations, 
or  whether  he  is  an  open-minded  seeker  after 
truth. 

"The  Beloved  Philosopher  then  quoted  what 
was  called  'The  Law  of  the  Upward  Way'  by  one 
who  wrote  in  1910.*  This  law  necessarily  finds  its 
verity  in  the  evolution  of  man  from  the  ape-like 
man  to  the  highest  spiritual  types  of  our  age.  As 
this  evolution  is  part  of  the  Divine  Cosmic  Plan, 
the  law  reveals  God's  purposes  towards  mankind 
and  His  desire  that  the  race  shall  advance  spir- 
itually. 

"This  law  is  stated  thus:  'By  preordained 
design  of  The  Infinite  One,  man,  as  the  gradually 
evolved  highest  creature  of  terrestrial  organic 
evolution,  from  the  faraway  time  of  the  original 
progenitors  of  the  race,  has  always  advanced  in- 
tellectually and  ethically  or  spiritually  under  a 
persistent  spiritual  process,  which,  while  not  de- 
priving him  of  his  free  will,  has  ever  impelled  him 
upward  away  from  animalism,  from  ignorance 
and  from  vice,  and  towards  higher  intellectuality 
and  higher  spiritually. ' 

' '  '  By  the  same  preordained  plan  the  uplifting 
forces  evidenced  in  the  spiritual  process  inevitably 
preponderate  in  ultimate  racial  uplifting  power 
over  the  necessarily  opposed  forces  which  tend 

*The  Religion  of  the  Spiritual  Evolution  of  Man  (anony- 
mous) ,  1910. 


THE  PHILOSOPHER'S  MESSAGE        65 

towards  racial  reversion  to  animalism,  retrogres- 
sion and  degradation.' 

"  'Also,  under  the  Divine  Plan,  this  same  pre- 
ponderating spiritual  process  will  continue  to 
further  uplift  humanity  through  all  the  future  of 
the  race,  to  the  end  that  not  only  individuals,  but 
the  whole  race,  will  become  spiritually  developed 
and  perfected  to  an  extent  not  now  discernible, 
but,  beyond  question,  far  above  the  present  stage 
of  advancement  and  possibly  approaching  the 

ideal.'" 

*  *      * 

Then  he  continued:  "Science,  therefore,  re- 
veals these  truths  respecting  humanity:  that 
Mankind  is  one  race  within  God 's  plan ;  that  only 
ignorance  and  defective,  untrue  religious  faiths 
stand  in  the  way  of  the  great  spiritual  advance- 
ment of  all  the  peoples  of  earth ;  that  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  universal  brotherhood  and  sisterhood 
of  human  beings  is  a  necessity  of  God's  Plan;  and 
that  the  religious  duty  of  every  man  and  every 
woman  is  to  consciously  assist  in  God's  great  pur- 
pose to  uplift  the  race  to  higher  and  higher  spirit- 
uality, and  this  can  be  done  only  by  the  united 
effort  of  those  who  realize  that  the  light  of  Science 
is  the  true  light  of  God,  and  that  humanity  must 
be  taught  both  the  real  truths  which  reveal  its 
origin  and  its  destiny  and  God's  Great  Plan  for 

race  unison  and  race  uplifting. ' ' 

*  *      * 

"Thus  ended  the  marvelous  discourse,  save 
that,  after  a  pause,  came  the  wonderfully  strong 
and  beautiful  suggestions  for  the  organization  and 
ritual  of  'The  Society  of  Progress.' 


66  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

"We,  of  'The  Seven/  as  our  Beloved  Philoso- 
pher dubbed  us,"  wrote  Darwin  to  Faith,  "then 
saw,  in  shining  glory,  the  whole  plan  for  redeem- 
ing the  Mormon  people  from  their  religious 
shackles  and  for  placing  them  high  in  the  fore- 
front of  the  Spiritual  Evolution  of  Mankind.  But 
I  cannot  now  write  you  of  this  plan,  as  it  is  to  be 
a  secret  organization,  but  I  hope  to  see  you  when  I 
visit  my  mother,  after  our  organization  is  under 
way,  and  I  will  gladly  tell  you. 

"You  cannot  possibly  realize  how  inspired  we 
are  by  the  teachings  and  suggestions  of  our  Be- 
loved Philosopher.  He  is  staying  with  us  for  a 
week,  while  all  the  ritual  and  methods  of  our  or- 
ganization are  being  perfected.  I  hope  that  you 
will  meet  him  some  time.  He  has  gained  our  deep 
affection  and  earth  has  never  yet  seen  a  higher 
evolved  type  of  man.  Wise  and  sane  and  truly 
spiritual,  he  loves  humanity  and  yearns  to  bring 

the  light  of  the  Faith  of  Science  to  all  the  earth. ' ' 

*      *      * 

Little  did  Darwin  realize  when  he  wrote  Faith 
that  he  hoped  she  would  meet  the  Beloved  Philoso- 
pher some  time,  that,  when  that  meeting  came,  it 
would  bring  to  the  younger  man  the  agony  of 
renunciation  of  his  greatest  desire. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A  FATEFUL  MEETING. 

WHILE  still  at  Highland  Cove,  one  after- 
noon Darwin  had  rambled  out  of  this  hid- 
den retreat  into  the  main  Canyon,  which 
gashes  deeply  into  the  Western  slope  of  the  Wa- 
satch  mountains  a  few  miles  southeast  of  Salt 
Lake  City. 

Absorbed  in  meditation,  he  had  not  noted  the 
earlier  gathering  of  thunder  clouds  around  the 
towering  Twin  Peaks,  nor  the  gradual  spread  of 
these  harbingers  of  a  mountain  electrical  storm. 
Suddenly  a  blaze  of  blinding  light  seared  his  eyes 
and  the  canyon  immediately  resounded  with  a 
fearful  crash  of  that  atmospheric  artillery,  which 
in  all  ages  has  awed  humanity,  though  of  itself 
it  is  but  a  harmless  herald  of  danger  passed. 

Instant,  upon  the  silence  which  followed  the 
thunder,  there  came  to  Darwin's  ears  a  scream 
of  fright  accompanied  by  hurried  beats  of  a 
horse's  hoofs. 

Springing  into  the  roadway  and  fixing  his  eyes 
up  the  great  gulch  upon  the  nearest  of  the  many 
abrupt  curves  which  characterize  this  canyon 
highway,  Darwin  beheld,  rounding  the  bend,  a 
powerful  horse  insane  with  fright  and  bearing  a 
young  woman  upon  his  back. 

Below  where  Darwin  stood,  scarce  a  hundred 
yards  away,  commenced  the  Narrows. 

67 


68  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Death  impended  for  horse  and  rider,  for  be- 
low the  slender  roadway  in  this  gorge  had  such 
sharp  turns  that  the  rush  of  the  crazy  steed  would 
undoubtedly  carry  himself  and  his  rider  over  the 
road's  edge,  down  the  rocky  walls  of  the  chasm 
onto  the  jutting  ragged  boulders  in  the  stream 
which  foamed  at  the  bottom  in  ominous  cascades. 

Darwin's  chivalry  was  instinctive  and  his 
brain  alert  and  efficient.  He  had  weighed  his 
chances  and  formed  his  plan  in  an  instant. 

Springing  to  the  stream  side  of  the  road  he 
braced  himself  for  his  impending  jump,  and  just 
as  the  horse  came  opposite  he  leaped  forward  and 
with  splendid  accuracy  grasped  with  one  hand  the 
bit  ring  and  connecting  rein  on  the  side  towards 
him,  while  with  the  other  he  grasped  the  nose  of 
the  animal,  planning  to  thus  weigh  him  down  and 
gag  him  into  submission. 

The  stream  and  road  above  the  Narrows  were 
almost  on  a  level,  the  inner  side  of  the  road  being 
a  rocky  embankment. 

Darwin  had  realized  that  the  dragging  weight 
of  his  body  and  the  pull  of  the  bit  would  tend  to 
keep  the  horse  from  crowding  against  the  rocky 
embankment,  and  crushing  the  limb  of  the  young 
woman,  for  she  rode  astride  as  all  women  do  in 
the  Western  mountains. 

The  powerful  animal  dragged  Darwin  down 
the  road  perilously  close  to  the  upper  gateway  of 
the  Narrows  and  his  hoofs  more  than  once  had 
struck  Darwin  with  cruel  force,  but  the  plan  sud- 
denly proved  effectual,  the  animal,  cowed  and 
trembling,  stopped  abruptly,  and  Darwin  instantly 
called  to  the  rider  to  dismount,  which  without  a 


A  FATEFUL  MEETING  69 

word  she  did  by  sliding  off  the  horse  and  toppling 
over  in  a  faint  almost  into  the  stream. 

Fearful  of  the  heels  of  the  horse  striking  her, 
Darwin  released  his  hold  upon  the  bit  and  hast- 
ened to  ward  off  the  danger  to  the  unconscious 
young  woman. 

The  horse  thus  freed  wheeled  in  the  roadway 
and  trotted  up  the  canyon. 

Although  aching  with  severe  bruises  upon  his 
legs,  Darwin  paid  no  attention  to  his  own  hurts, 
but  first  devoted  himself  to  restoring  the  young 
woman  to  consciousness.  While  he  bathed  her 
forehead  with  water  from  the  stream  her  person- 
ality seemed  to  force  upon  him  the  knowledge  that 
she  was  a  voluptuously  beautiful  young  woman 
of  the  dark,  raven-haired,  full-blooded  type,  which 
so  often  is  termed  amorous. 

His  attention  being  temporarily  withdrawn  by 
another  flash  of  lightning,  he  did  not  see  the  first 
quick  opening  of  the  girl's  eyelids. 

He  could  not  know  that  she  had  regained  con- 
sciousness several  minutes  before  she  again 
opened  her  eyes  and  suddenly  threw  her  arms 
around  his  neck  and  drew  him  down  and  kissed 
him  ere  he  could  realize  the  strange  intimacy  of 
her  acts. 

Then  sitting  up  she  turned  upon  him  the  mag- 
netic gaze  of  a  pair  of  very  dark  eyes,  which  un- 
mistakably bespoke  a  passionate  nature,  and  she 
quickly  said: 

"My  hero.  I  owe  my  life  to  you,  and  I  can 
never  sufficiently  repay  my  debt.  I'm  dizzy  with 
my  great  peril,  but  I  am  glad  that  it  was  you 
who  were  my  rescuer.  It  seemed  as  though  a  god 


70  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

had  become  human  to  come  to  my  aid.  Though 
we  do  not  know  each  other's  names  I  feel  that 
Fate  has  a  meaning  in  thus  bringing  us  together 
and  that  coward  up  the  canyon,  who  outrode  me  to 
seel?:  his  own  safety  before  the  storm  should  break, 
now  never  can  have  his  wish  to  possess  me  ful- 
filled." 

Darwin,  scarcely  understanding  the  boldness 
of  the  girl's  utterance,  had  suddenly  realized  that 
he  was  faint  and  harshly  bruised,  and  sitting 
down  abruptly,  he  exclaimed:  "I'm  sorry,  but 
I'm  afraid  I  am  cut  with  the  horse's  shoes  and  I 
beg  your  pardon,  but  I  must  examine." 

With  that  he  rolled  up  one  of  the  legs  of  his 
trousers  and  found  a  mass  of  blood  which  was  still 
welling  out  of  a  deep  cut. 

The  girl  was  alert  with  opportunity. 

Seizing  Darwin's  handkerchief,  which  he  had 
soaked  in  the  brook  and  used  in  his  efforts  to 
overcome  her  faint,  she  insisted  upon  washing 
Darwin's  wound,  though  against  his  protest. 

When  this  was  accomplished,  with  a  long,  di 
rect  gaze  into  his  eyes,  she  said : 

"This  is  no  time  for  mock  modesty.  You 
saved  my  life  and  I  will  do  anything  in  return. 
This  wound  must  be  bandaged  with  dry  linen." 
Without  withdrawing  she  turned  her  back  to  him 
and  lifting  one-half  of  her  divided  skirt,  Darwin 
heard  a  tearing  of  fabric  and  then  after  again 
loking  directly  at  him  the  girl  knelt  down  and 
swiftly  bandaged  the  wound  in  a  not  unskillful 
manner. 

Darwin,  was  innately  chivalrous  towards  wo- 
men and  without  that  peculiar  vanity  of  most  men 


A  FATEFUL  MEETING  71 

which  ascribes  the  casual  glances  of  women  to  the 
fascination  of  their  own  masculine  attractions. 
Yet,  he  could  not  fail  to  see  that  this  young  woman 
was  determined  to  charm  him. 

While  paying  to  the  girl  the  unspoken  tribute 
of  believing  her  virtuous  and  also  admitting  to 
himself  that  she  was  beautiful  in  her  own  voluptu- 
ous style,  he  determined  to  change  the  situation  if 
possible. 

Rising  to  his  feet  he  thanked  her  for  her  aid, 
and  then  hurriedly  asked  her  if  he  should  not  try 
to  find  her  horse. 

She  replied  that  the  companion  of  her  ride  was 
somewhere  up  the  road  and  that  undoubtedly  he 
would  soon  appear  bringing  her  mount  with  him; 
unless  he  had  been  frightened  to  death. 

Failing  in  his  ruse,  Darwin  then  proposed  that 
they  should  walk  up  the  road  together,  so  that  if 
no  horse  appeared  she  could  reach  the  place  at 
which  she  was  stopping  before  evening  came  on. 

Protesting  against  Darwin's  walking  far  with 
his  wounded  leg  she  finally  consented  to  accom- 
pany him  for  a  short  distance  up  the  road  to  look 
for  her  horse. 

Then  came  an  astounding  discovery. 

Darwin  had  casually  asked  the  girl  with  whom 
she  was  visiting  in  the  mountain  summer  colony 
at  the  head  of  the  canyon.  She  replied:  "With 
Mrs.  Blyman,  my  mother.  I  am  Julina  Blyman, 
and  I  would  like  very  much  to  have  you  come  to 
our  cottage  and  stay  until  your  wound  is  healed." 

Darwin  started  as  if  stung  and  exclaimed: 
"My  God,  then  you  are  my  half-sister!  I  am 


72  THE  HUNDBEDTH  WAVE 

Darwin  Snowson  and  your  father  and  mine  was 
Hyrum  Flesher." 

Julina  in  turn  was  startled  beyond  measure. 

From  her  mother  she  had  learned  the  story  of 
Naomi  Snowson  and  Hyrum  Flesher,  and  knew 
that  this  half-brother  of  hers  was  not  a  Mormon, 
while  she,  the  child  of  polygamy,  clung  to  the 
faith  which  placed  across  the  stain  of  her  ille- 
gitimacy, the  sensual  religious  teachings  of  the 
Mormon  Church,  and  thereby  attempted  to  cover 
up  the  stain. 

What  strange  thoughts  flashed  through  the 
mind  of  this  girl. 

Instigated  by  her  mother,  she  had  hated  Naomi 
and  her  son,  although  she  had  never  seen  them. 

Orthodox  Mormonism  is  wont  to  hate  apos- 
tates who  do  not  seek  to  curry  favor  by  excusing 
and  covering  up  the  evils  of  the  Church. 

Now,  Julina  was  confronted  with  the  over- 
whelming knowledge  that  the  young  man  who  had 
saved  her  life  at  the  risk  of  his  own  and  who  had 
strongly  aroused  her  uncurbed  nature  was  half 
her  own  blood. 

Was  it  a  taint  of  polygamy  which  caused  the 
girl  to  gaze  passionately  at  Darwin  and  wildly  ex- 
claim: "Oh,  we  can't  be  brother  and  sister.  I 
adore  you  so,  my  hero." 

Flinging  herself  on  Darwin's  breast  with  her 
arms  closely  wrapped  around  his  neck,  she  pas- 
sionately kissed  him  and  then  hysterically  wept 
as  if  her  heart  was  broken. 

As  soon  as  he  was  able,  Darwin  gently  removed 
her  arms  and  quietly  brought  to  her  notice  the 
fact  that  some  one  on  horseback  was  approaching, 


A  FATEFUL  MEETING  73 

although  as  yet  he  was  some  distance  above  where 
they  were  standing,  and  that  he  was  leading  a 
riderless  horse. 

Recognizing  her  truant  escort,  Julina  bitterly 
said:  "It's  Joseph  Henry  Smith,  the  young  man 
who  deserted  me  when  the  storm  commenced.  I 
would  have  been  dead  at  the  bottom  of  that  awful 
gorge  as  far  as  he  is  concerned.  He  is  only  half 
a  man." 

The  approaching  rider  gazed  on  Julina  with 
a  drawn,  anxious  face,  and  Darwin  then  beheld 
that  effeminate  scion  of  the  chief  royal  house  of 
Mormondom,  who  had  just  been  made  one  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  of  the  Church,  and  whose  degen- 
eracy subsequently  indirectly  led  to  the  great 
tragedy  of  his  Church. 

The  day  following  the  strange  meeting  of  the 
children  of  Hyrum  Flesher  a  mounted  messenger 
brought  to  Highland  Cove  a  note  from  Julina  to 
Darwin.  This  note  reveals  the  germinating  of 
those  strange,  wild  moods  which  afterwards  seized 
Julina  at  intervals  and  which  directly  contributed 
to  the  fateful  events  of  the  same  tragedy. 

Julina  wrote: 
"My  Hero-Brother: 

"I  am  in  a  tumult  of  emotions  which  are  be- 
yond my  control.  My  mother  hates  you  and  your 
mother  almost  insanely  and  insists  that  I  must 
never  see  you  again.  She  also  insists  that  I  shall 
marry  the  young  apostle  at  once,  and  is  taking  me 
back  to  the  City  tomorrow  so  that  we  shall  be 
married  in  the  Temple  the  next  day.  What  can 
I  do?  You  did  not  despise  my  polygamous  birth, 
and  I  had  never  dreamed  that  there  was  a  man 


74  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

in  the  world  so  brave  and  so  gentle.  Oh,  why  are 
we  of  the  same  blood?  I  would  be  your  slave  just 
to  be  near  you.  I  am  reckless  of  anything.  I  must 
see  you  tonight  and  I  will  slip  down  the  road  in 
the  moonlight  and  meet  you  at  the  place  where 
you  saved  my  life.  I  would  willingly  die  with 
you  in  the  chasm  we  escaped  so  narrowly.  I 
scarcely  know  what  I  am  writing  I  am  so  dis- 
tracted, but  come  if  you  would  save  my  soul  from 
the  dark  cloud  which  I  feel  shadowing  it. 
"Your  devoted, 

"JULINA." 

Darwin  was  not  at  Highland  Cove  that  day 
when  the  messenger  came  with  the  note.  Early 
in  the  morning  he  had  taken  flight  in  his  service- 
able little  safety  aeroplane  straight  into  Salt  Lake 
City  in  order  to  have  his  wound  attended  to  by  a 
physician,  and  so  it  chanced  that  the  messenger 
went  back  to  Julina  with  the  tidings  that  Darwin 
was  absent  and  would  not  return  that  day. 

The  day  following,  as  Darwin  swung  his  speedy 
air  craft  into  the  mouth  of  the  canyon,  he  noted 
beneath  him  an  automobile  with  a  driver  and  and 
three  passengers  speeding  cityward.  By  chance 
he  identified  the  hat  and  veil  of  Julina  covering 
one  of  the  two  ladies  in  the  car,  and  this  was  his 
last  glimpse  of  his  half-sister  and  he  scarcely 
heard  of  her  again  until  she  became  the  dominant 
figure  in  the  tragedy  of  her  Church. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

WHEN  Darwin  Snowson  returned  to  Salt 
Lake  City  from  the  sojourn  at  Highland 
Cove,  accompanied  by  the  rest  of  the 
Seven,  it  was  with  firm  conviction  that  his  moth- 
er 's  long-cherished  desire  would  ere  long  receive  a 
sure  fulfillment. 

At  his  resource  was  a  sum  of  money  of  great 
amount.  The  fortune  which  had  slipped  the 
greedy  grasp  of  Hyrum  Flesher  had  been  aug- 
mented enormously  in  the  quarter  century  which 
intervened  between  Naomi's  Eastward  flight  and 
Darwin's  return  to  the  "alien"  state. 

At  once  the  Seven,  with  most  generous  expendi- 
ture out  of  the  Redemption  Fund,  as  Naomi  had 
called  it,  prepared  the  marvelous  settings  which 
were  to  instructively  charm  the  advancing  novi- 
tiate whilst  he  rose  ever  higher  in  the  Realm  of 
Truth,  through  the  Seven  Degrees  of  The  Society 
of  Progress. 

With  splendid  powers  of  organization,  Darwin, 
the  "Lesser  Master"  of  the  Society,  utilized  the 
best  talents  of  each  of  the  Seven  in  preparation 
for  the  great  campaign.  "The  Great  Master" 
was  not  The  Beloved  Philosopher,  as  one  might 
surmise,  but  will  be  revealed  in  a  later  connection. 

With  definite  missions,  the  Seven  scattered  in 
every  direction.  To  Waldemar  Grant,  Mahonri 
Taylor  and  Mathonihah  Cowley  was  delegated  the 

75 


76  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

duty  of  preparing  a  hurried  census  of  the  descend- 
ants of  Mormons  in  Utah,  who  had  forsaken  the 
Mormon  faith;  for  Darwin  looked  to  these  for 
great  aid  in  his  work.  Particularly  were  these 
three  of  the  Seven  to  trace  the  ninety-four  stu- 
dents of  the  Church  University,  who,  in  1911,  had 
boldly  placed  the  truths  of  evolution  against  the 
dogmas  of  the  Church,  and  to  learn  who  among 
them  had  advanced  in  scientific  truth  and  who  had 
retrograded.  Also  to  these  three  was  intrusted 
the  earlier  work  upon  the  House  of  the  Seven 
Doors. 

Nephi  Woodruff,  an  amateur  astronomer,  was 
commissioned  to  gather  the  marvelous  collection 
of  stellar  photographic  plates,  and,  under  his  di- 
rection, Waldemar  Grant  invented  the  machinery 
which  made  the  Second  Degree  of  the  Society  of 
Progress  a  veritable  revelation  to  the  tens  of 
thousands  who  afterward  attained  the  Seven 
Degrees. 

It  was  Lincoln  Smith  who  undertook  the  task 
of  assembling  the  biological  plates,  fossils  and 
paraphernalia  which  told  the  story  of  terrestrial 
animal  life,  excluding  mankind,  in  such  graphic 
form  as  to  fascinate  the  students  of  the  Third 
Degree. 

Darwin  and  Eobert  Young  co-operated  in  as- 
sembling and  making  truthfully  accurate  the 
exhibits  of  those  wonderful  Degrees,  the  Fourth 
and  Fifth. 

And  it  was  The  Beloved  Philosopher  whose 
genius  flowered  in  the  beauty  and  wisdom  and  re- 
deeming power  of  the  First,  Sixth  and  Seventh 
Degrees  of  the  Society  he  had  planned. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  SOCIETY  77 

To  launch  the  Society  in  gathering  strength, 
by  January,  1934,  was  Darwin's  definite  purpose. 

It  was  necessary  for  him  and  Robert  Young  to 
go  to  Europe  to  accomplish  the  task  they  had  un- 
dertaken ;  for  part  of  their  work  was  the  graphic 
demonstration  of  the  antiquity  and  the  progress 
of  man  from  the  first  types  which  evolved  to  the 
highest  spiritual  types  of  today,  of  which  The  Be- 
loved Philosopher,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Seven,  was 
one. 

Returning  just  before  the  holidays,  Darwin 
resolved  to  visit  his  mother  and  if  his  heart  beat 
fast  as  he  thought  of  again  meeting  Faith  Win- 
throp,  who  among  us  but  would  sympathize  with 
his  longings? 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  WINTER  EPISODE. 

DARWIN  and  Faith,  attired  in  attractive 
Winter  garb,  were  flying  across  Lake 
Memsota,  upon  Darwin's  champion  ice 
boat,  "The  Arctic  Princess." 

The  joy  of  a  clear  Winter  day  had  set  their 
blood  coursing  in  full  tide.  As  Darwin,  with  hand 
on  the  tiller,  would  glance  forward  at  Faith,  where 
she  sat  perched  on  the  windward  wing  of  the 
speeding  boat,  with  strong  love  he  silently  wor- 
shiped the  beautiful  maid  who  had  been  so  gra- 
cious to  him  during  his  holiday  stay  in  Capitolton. 
He  longed  for  the  time  to  come  when  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  mission  to  Utah  would  make  it 
possible  to  reveal  to  her  his  heart's  great  desire. 

Faith  had  exhibited  great  interest  in  his  story 
of  all  that  had  been  done  in  the  West  and  also  in 
the  maturing  plans  for  the  organization  of  the  So- 
ciety. Many  times,  by  lingering  messages  from 
her  lovely  eyes,  he  had  been  encouraged  to  be- 
lieve that  in  some  degree  his  love  met  a  response 
in  her  heart. 

She  had  listened,  absorbed,  while  he  told  her 
of  the  wonderful  week  the  Seven  had  spent  with 
the  Beloved  Philosopher,  and  he  little  weighed, 
at  that  time,  the  import  of  her  words  when  she 
said :  ' '  Oh,  I  would  like  so  much  to  meet  him.  He 
has  captured  my  heart  without  my  having  seen 
him." 

78 


A  WINTER  EPISODE  79 

The  "Princess,"  flying  in  stately  grace  to- 
wards the  Southern  shore  of  the  lake,  had  suc- 
cessfully leaped,  with  retarded  speed,  the  huge 
"division  crack"  whose  piled  up  lips  made  cau- 
tion a  prime  necessity;  then  gathering  speed  she 
bore  the  young  couple  in  joyful  mood  straight  to- 
wards the  bluff  on  the  shore,  which,  on  its  land- 
ward side,  held  the  well  remembered  cave  which 
had  sheltered  them  from  the  storm  the  previous 
June.  A  thin  film  of  snow  sifted  along  the  ice  and 
partially  concealed  its  hard,  glistening  surface. 

Joy  was  suddenly  turned  to  tragedy.  Against 
strict  custom,  an  unmarked  fish  "bobbing"  hole, 
covered  with  a  thin  coat  of  ice,  lay  in  the  path- 
way of  the  "Princess." 

The  leeward  wing  of  the  boat  thrust  its  run- 
ner into  this  unseen  trap  and  the  other  wing  on 
which  Faith  sat  was  carried  with  violent  swerve 
in  a  half  circle  high  up  from  the  lake 's  icy  surface. 

Unprepared  for  such  an  occurrence,  Faith  was 
thrown  with  great  force  upon  the  hard  ice,  where 
she  lay  motionless,  as  Darwin  saw  when  he  swiftly 
turned  to  observe  what  had  happened  to  her  while 
he  was  clinging  instinctively  to  the  rudder  and 
the  sail  ropes. 

With  an  exclamation  of  fear  Darwin  dropped 
the  sail  and  sprang  forward  to  Faith's  side.  Inert 
and  pallid  the  beautiful  girl  was  stretched  out 
upon  the  icy  bed  in  terrifying  resemblance  to 
death. 

With  a  heart  which  seemed  to  stop  beating, 
Darwin  lifted  her  limp  arm  and  felt  with  trem- 
bling fingers  for  her  pulse. 


80 

The  sudden  pounding  of  his  own  heart  told  the 
story  that  hers  still  faintly  throbbed  the  message 
that  he  might  hope. 

At  once  he  rushed  to  the  ice  boat  and  got  a 
steamer  rug,  which  he  had  brought  along  for 
Faith's  comfort,  and  in  which  he  wrapped  Faith's 
body.  Then  with  tender  vigor  he  rubbed  her  cold 
hands  in  his  own  loving  ones  whilst  he  held  her 
lovely  head  upon  his  lap.  He  was  soon  rewarded 
with  a  flutter  of  her  eyelids  and  an  increasing 
warmth  in  her  chilled  hands. 

Memory  suddenly  played  a  trick  on  him.  Like 
a  flash  the  scene  in  the  canyon,  where  another  type 
of  maid  had  recovered  from  a  swoon,  came  into 
his  brain,  and  then  the  world  seemed  oddly  unreal 
when  Faith  opened  her  eyes,  and  glancing  some- 
what blankly  at  him,  threw  her  arms  around  his 
neck  as  he  bent  over  her. 

But  it  was  no  message  of  loving  devotion  for 
him  which  she  spoke. 

"Laddie,  sweetheart,  why  am  I  so  cold?  Won't 
you  stir  up  the  fire.  How  strange  you  look,  Lad- 
die. You  seem  like  a  big  man,  honey.  I  don't 
think  I  like  you  as  well  this  way,  dearie.  Where 
are  we  going,  sweetness?'' 

With  swift  alarm,  Darwin  realized  that  the 
blow  which  had  stunned  Faith  had  now  produced 
delirium  and  that  she  fancied  that  he  was  "Lad- 
die" Stanwood,  a  boy  cousin,  who  was  a  great 
chum  and  admirer  of  hers. 

The  situation,  momentarily,  daunted  Darwin. 
There  were  no  dwellings  along  the  shore  except 
at  relatively  distant  points,  and  Capitolton  was 
several  miles  away  around  that  long,  narrow 


A  WINTER  EPISODE  81 

neck  of  land,  known  as  "Outing  Point,"  which 
lies  between  the  bay  in  which  they  were  and  the 
University  landing,  near  to  which  Eleanor  Stan- 
wood  lived. 

But  Darwin's  courage  and  resources  did  not 
fail  him.  Conducting  Faith  back  to  the  "Prin- 
cess," he  quickly  cut  off  the  jib  sail  and  per- 
suaded her  to  sit  down  upon  the  multiple  folds, 
w^hich  he  first  placed  upon  the  ice.  Before  wrap- 
ping her  again  in  the  soft,  warm  steamer  rug,  he 
had  whipped  off  his  thick  outer  coat  and  gently 
talked  Faith  into  putting  it  on. 

She  was  afraid  "Laddie"  would  freeze,  but 
Darwin  told  her  that  his  sweater  was  frost  proof, 
and  thus  satisfied  her  still  wandering  mind. 

The  runner  of  the  "Princess"  had  lodged  in 
the  now  open  "bobbing"  hole,  but  from  long  ex- 
perience, Darwin  had  made  a  light  axe  part  of  the 
equipment  of  the  boat  for  just  such  emergencies. 
With  rapid  strokes  he  widened  the  hole  until  he 
could  free  the  runner  and  then  placed  the  boat 
on  even  keel.  He  carefully  examined  the  craft 
and  found  that  no  material  damage  had  been  done. 

Faith,  now,  as  warm  as  toast,  had  been  sitting 
with  drooping  head  upon  the  canvas  cushion. 

Darwin  stepped  over  and  taking  her  by  the 
hand  led  her  the  few  steps  to  the  stern  of  the 
"Princess."  Eapidly  arranging  the  jib  canvas 
and  the  rug,  he  tenderly  lifted  her  upon  the  wide 
board,  which  gave  him  his  perch  at  the  rudder, 
and  covering  all  but  her  head  with  the  warm  wrap- 
pings, he  encircled  her  waist  with  a  rope  and 
looped  it  around  his  own,  so  that  she  could  not 
fall  from  the  somewhat  precarious  place  she  occu- 


82 

pied  while  he  was  engaged  in  managing  the  boat. 

Faith  was  silent  during  these  preparations, 
vacantly  staring  over  the  icy  expanse. 

The  " Princess"  behaved  right  royally,  as  un- 
der Darwin 's  masterly  guidance  in  smooth,  swift 
flight,  she  carried  her  silent  passengers  in  a  few 
minutes  to  the  landing  near  the  house  of  Faith's 
aunt. 

Darwin  had  noticed  that  Faith  had  settled 
back  against  his  knees  as  the  boat  flew  on,  and 
when  he  had  brought  the  craft  to  the  shore  he  was 
not  surprised  to  find  that  the  maiden  was  in  a 
stupor. 

Throwing  the  canvas  off  from  her,  he  gath- 
ered her  in  his  arms  and,  staggering  under  his 
precious  burden,  he  made  his  way  to  the  home  of 
Mrs.  Catherton,  into  whose  care  he  surrendered 
her  unconscious  niece. 

It  was  two  days  before  Darwin  could  see  Faith, 
who,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  fully  restored  to 
her  usual  mental  poise. 

The  next  day  he  was  to  meet  Kobert  Young  in 
Chicago  and  go  with  him  to  the  re-gathering  of 
the  Seven  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

Darwin's  heart  throbbed  with  deep  love  as  he 
gazed  on  the  pale,  sweet  face,  which  he  had  last 
seen  in  unconsciousness. 

Faith  met  him  with  a  shyness,  which  was  new 
in  their  associations  with  each  other.  She  seemed 
embarrassed  in  expressing  her  gratitude  to  him 
for  his  services  in  her  behalf.  The  constraint 
wore  away  as  they  talked  of  Darwin's  imminent 
journey,  and  they  parted  quite  happily  as  Faith 


A  WINTER  EPISODE  83 

wished  him  every  success  in  establishing  the  So- 
ciety and  accomplishing  his  great  object. 

It  was  when  Darwin  was  speeding  Westward 
that  he  recalled  Faith's  constraint  and  his  heart 
chilled  suddenly  when  it  occurred  to  him  that  it 
was  because  she  feared  he  might  expect  too  warm 
a  greeting  from  one  to  whom  she  was  so  deeply  in- 
debted. 

His  ardent  hope  of  the  past  then  for  the  first 
time  received  a  check. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  SEVEN  DOORS. 

THE  city  blocks  in  the  City  of  the  Salt  Sea 
are  of  enormous  size,  with  a  fringe  of  build- 
ings around  the  outward  sides,  and  a  huge, 
scramblingly  occupied  interior  space,  which  seems 
an  economic  waste  to  a  critical  observer. 

In  the  interior  of  one  of  these  blocks,  in  the 
center  of  the  City,  in  1933,  there  was  a  large  com- 
mon brick  structure,  which  had  been  used  as  an 
electric  power  plant.  Finding  it  vacant  and  avail- 
able, Darwin  had  secured  it  by  purchase,  before 
he  left  Salt  Lake  City,  and  the  Seven  had  jointly 
planned  its  transformation.  The  few  citizens  who 
learned  of  the  change  in  its  interior  were  led  to 
believe  that  it  was  to  be  used  for  a  secret  benefit 
insurance  organization.  It  was  the  plan  of  the 
Seven  to  keep  secret  the  organization  and  home 
of  the  Society  as  long  as  practicable. 

After  its  transformation,  with  unchanged 
outer  walls,  the  building  presented  a  dingy,  for- 
bidding appearance,  different  only  from  its  pre- 
vious manufacturing  aspect  in  one  singular  fea- 
ture. 

The  lower  walls  were  pierced  by  seven  oddly 
arranged  doors,  and  no  other  openings. 

Each  door  was  walled  in  from  observation 
from  its  fellows  by  arched  approaches  and  each 
approach  was  reached  by  a  different  means  of  en- 
trance from  the  exterior  of  the  block. 

84 


HOUSE  OF  SEVEN  DOORS      85 

One  door  could  be  entered  only  from  an  alley- 
way, which  cuts  into  the  block  from  the  West ;  a 
second  found  its  entrance  through  a  book  store  in 
which  Waldemar  Grant  was  financially  interested ; 
a  third  apparently  had  no  exit  to  the  neighboring 
street,  but  Robert  Young  had  rented  an  office  at 
the  rear  of  the  ground  floor  of  a  large  office  build- 
ing and  the  window  at  the  corner  of  this  building 
in  Robert's  office  opened  upon  a  patch  of  vacant 
ground  which  led  directly  to  this  door. 

And  so  it  was  with  the  remaining  doors.  Each 
had  its  own  relatively  secret  pathway  from  the 
street. 

We  now  know  that  each  of  the  Seven  Doors 
gave  entrance  to  a  separate,  beautiful,  small  audi- 
torium in  which  the  novitiate  was  instructed  in 
one  of  the  seven  degrees  of  the  Society  of  Prog- 
ress. Each  of  these  large  rooms  was  wonderfully 
decorated  in  its  own  distinctive  harmony  with  the 
object  of  the  degree  which  was  conferred  therein, 
and  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  The  Beloved 
Philosopher. 

The  lighting  of  these  beautiful  rooms  was  after 
a  studied  design,  which  always  effected  the  strong- 
est possible  results  upon  the  student  of  the  degree. 

It  was  often  said  by  those  who  had  advanced 
through  the  Seven  Degrees  that  their  minds  and 
souls  were  so  wrought  upon  by  the  wise  arrange- 
ment of  the  Seven  Chambers,  as  the  seven  rooms 
were  called,  that  no  vagrant  conflicting  suggestion 
could  intrude. 

The  Beloved  Philosopher,  deep  master  of  hu- 
man psychology,  had  weighed  the  means  of  mak- 
ing every  step  in  the  progress  of  those  who  took 


86  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

the  degrees  of  the  Society,  an  upward  advance 
in  knowledge  and  scientific  spiritual  truth,  and  so 
perfect  was  his  ritual  and  the  accessories,  the 
Seven  found  with  great  satisfaction  that  any  in- 
telligent man  or  woman  who  earned  admission 
through  the  Seven  Doors  in  succession,  became  so 
uplifted  and  educated  in  the  Realm  of  Truth  that 
he  or  she  was  afire  with  zeal  to  bring  others  into 
the  Society. 

The  Seven  were  wont  to  say,  when  they  assem- 
bled in  the  Room  of  Council  (which  was  a  secret 
chamber  far  within  the  interior  of  the  House  of 
Seven  Doors),  that  no  human  soul,  which  was  not 
degenerate,  could  attain  the  Seven  Degrees  and 
not  become  exalted  in  spirituality. 

And  they  would  again  and  again  refer  to  the 
case  of  Moses  Trustell,  who  had  pretended  to  be 
an  apostate  from  the  Mormon  Church,  but  who 
secretly,  had  worked  in  matters  of  publicity  to 
create  false  impressions  favorable  to  that  Church 
and  who  designed  to  betray  all  the  secrets  of  the 
Society  to  the  Church. 

They  told  of  the  scene  in  the  Chamber  of  the 
Seventh  Degree,  when  Trustell,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Seven,  overwhelmed  with  the  spiritual  power 
of  that  degree,  had  broken  down  in  bitter  repent- 
ance and  confessed  his  baseness  and  begged  the 
Lesser  Master  to  use  him  in  any  minor  way  to 
bring  others  to  see  the  Gleam  of  Eternal  Light 
which  had  come  to  him  in  that  final  degree. 

They  told,  also,  with  saddened  voices,  how 
Trustell,  after  doing  most  noble  work  for  the  So- 
ciety, went  to  his  death  in  the  great  tragedy  which 


87 

involved  Darwin  Snowson — The  Lesser  Master — 
in  its  dread  embrace. 

Thus  the  House  of  the  Seven  Doors  has  ever 
been  the  Central  Shrine  of  the  Society  and  now 
many  thousands  of  former  adherents  of  the  Mor- 
mon Church  bless  the  day  when  they  entered 
through  the  Door  of  Truth,  into  the  Chamber  of 
Truth,  wherein  the  instruction  of  the  First  Degree 
of  the  Society  was  taken. 

But  it  was  not  alone  in  the  House  of  the  Seven 
Doors  that  the  great  work  of  the  Society  went  on. 
In  Ogden  and  Provo,  in  Logan  and  Mount  Pleas- 
ant, in  Nephi  and  even  far  St.  George,  there  were 
swiftly  acquired  " Homes"  of  the  First  Degree, 
and  in  these  the  Seven,  at  first,  and  afterwards, 
"The  Forty-nine"  gave  the  instruction  of  the 
First  Degree  and  took  the  Pledge  of  Fidelity  from 
all  who,  after  the  instruction  wished  to  climb  the 
upward  Pathway  of  Truth  through  the  other  Six 
Degrees.  Only  those  who  took  this  Pledge  ever 
knew  of  the  nature  of  the  six  succeeding  Degrees. 

The  lid  of  the  Treasure  Chest — the  Redemp- 
tion Fund — gaped  wide  for  use  of  its  contents  for 
every  reasonable  outlay  which  aided  the  work. 

It  should  be  known  that  the  ' '  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  The  Latter  Day  Saints"  is  a  vast  secret 
society.  Within  its  Temple  Walls  no  Gentile  could 
go  and  it  has  held  within  these  Temples  its  secret 
ceremonies  of  Endowment  and  Marriage  (both 
monogamous  and  polygamous). 

These  secret  ceremonies  have  been  revealed  by 
some  who  have  "gone  through  the  Temple"  and 
the  crude  animalistic  Theology  of  this  church  is 
such  that  the  so-called  ' l  sacred  ordinances ' '  would 


88  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

shock  deeply  either  a  man  or  a  woman  of  refine- 
ment and  high  ideals. 

Darwin  had  suggested  that  the  ritual  of  the 
Society  of  Progress  in  one  of  the  Degrees  to  some 
extent  should  expose  the  grossness  and  unspirit- 
uality  of  the  Mormon  "ordinances"  and  contrast 
the  high  spirituality  of  the  Realm  of  Truth  with 
these  baser  rites.  In  the  Sixth  Degree  of  the  So- 
ciety this  was  accomplished. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  one  who  had 
been  instructed  in  the  previous  Degrees  scarce 
required  the  contrasting  demonstration,  but  the 
wisdom  of  the  plan  was  often  proven  when  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Society  with  powerful  force  would  use 
the  basic  ideas  of  this  Degree  to  convince  liberal 
Mormons  that  the  Mormon  rites  were  false  and 
debasing. 

Ere  long  the  secret  channels  of  the  Society 
began  to  penetrate  even  the  densest  Mormon  com- 
munities, for  the  Seven  quickly  called  the  Forty- 
nine  from  many  different  sections  to  come  to  the 
House  of  the  Seven  Doors  and  be  the  first  to  enter 
the  Seven  Chambers  and  take  the  Seven  Degrees 
of  the  Realm  of  Truth. 

The  Forty-nine  represented  the  most  enlight- 
ened of  all  Mormondom  and  included  many  who 
had  long  been  ready  to  forsake  the  ancient  faith. 

One  said  in  the  early  years  of  this  century : 
"The  Soul  needs  a  faith  however  oft  its  faith  is 
slain. ' ' 

[Edmond  Rostand.] 

And  when  the  Forty-nine  had  completed  the  Up- 
ward Pathway  of  the  Realm  of  Truth  they  realized 


89 

that  a  new  scientific  Faith,  higher  than  any  of  the 
past,  had  grown  into  their  souls. 

If  you  care  not  to  have  an  ancient  faith  dis- 
turbed, read  not  the  Tales  of  the  Degrees  which 
follow,  even  though  there  be  linked  with  these 
tales  the  heart  romances  of  some  of  the  Seven. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   ROMANCE   OF   THE    FIRST   DEGREE. 

HIGH  up  in  the  Wasatch  Mountains,  under 
the  towering  apex  of  the  northerly  of 
those  majestic  granite-linked  pyramids, 
the  Twin  Peaks,  lies  a  wonderfully  beautiful  lake- 
let, whose  crystalline  waters  mirror  in  splendor 
the  crags  which  border  it. 

So  difficult  of  access  is  this  little  lake  that  rela- 
tively few  ever  visit  it.  For  the  same  reason  it 
is  the  ambition  of  real  mountain  climbers  of  both 
sexes  to  reach  its  ramparts. 

Late  in  that  summer  of  1933,  which  brought 
the  Beloved  Philosopher  to  Highland  Cove,  short- 
ly before  sunset  one  day,  Lincoln  Smith,  with 
somewhat  weary  mien,  dragged  himself  up  the 
last  steep  pitch  upon  the  border  of  the  lakelet. 

The  little  breath  which  remained  in  his  gasp- 
ing lungs  suddenly  seemed  to  leave  him.  With 
unbelieving  eyes,  he  stared  before  him  upon  a 
scene  which  he  will  carry  in  the  sacred  halls  of 
his  memory  until  life  ceases. 

Seated  at  the  brink  of  a  little  stream,  which 
flows  for  a  few  feet  through  a  flat  grassy  spot  on 
the  edge  of  the  lake,  and  then  in  dashing  leaps 
falls  down  the  steeps  of  the  gorge,  was  a  girl  in 
singular  disarray. 

Far  above  the  haunts  of  men  in  the  vast  soli- 
tude, it  was  more  than  strange  to  find  a  com- 
panionless  maiden  braving  the  coming  night,  for 

90 


by  no  chance  would  it  be  possible  for  her  to  de- 
scend the  almost  impassable  trail  in  the  little  sun- 
light which  remained  of  the  day. 

Still  stranger  was  it  that  down  the  girl's  back 
in  unconfined  waves  flowed  a  mass  of  beautiful 
hair,  which  swept  the  turf  with  its  lower  lengths. 
Lincoln  always  afterwards  called  the  color  of  the 
tresses  "rare  gold,"  for  it  shaded  from  the  blond- 
ness  of  brownish  golden  gleams  close  to  the  head 
into  lighter  gold  near  the  outer  ends,  so  that  when 
coiled  upon  the  head  one  might  think  the  contrast- 
ing ends  were  from  different  heads. 

But,  most  strange,  this  maid  of  the  mountains, 
with  her  left  limb  bared  to  the  knee,  was  bathing 
her  ankle  and  foot  in  the  ice-cold  stream. 

It  was  long  afterwards  that  Lincoln  recalled 
in  artistic  and  lover-like  appreciation  the  slender 
grace  and  beauty  of  the  bare  limb,  for,  as  he  re- 
alized the  strangeness  of  it  all,  the  girl  suddenly 
raised  her  head  and  he  gazed  into  eyes  which 
made  his  heart  leap  in  tumult.  In  the  scant  mo- 
ment before  he  felt  compelled  to  speak  to  the 
maid,  he  saw  that  she  was  very  pale  and  that  she 
had  hastily  withdrawn  her  foot  from  the  brook 
and  in  some  deft  way  had  covered  it  with  her 
short  mountain  skirt. 

He  quickly  remarked:  "Have  you  met  with 
an  accident  I "  I  little  expected  to  find  anyone  up 
here  and  I  fear  that  you  have  sprained  your  ankle. 
I  am  Lincoln  Smith,  and  at  College  I  took  a  course 
in  First  Aid  to  the  Injured.  Won't  you  consider 
me  your  older  brother  and  let  me  help  you.  I 
came  up  to  spend  the  night  at  the  lake  to  catch 
and  sketch  the  effect  of  the  reflection  of  the  rising 


92  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

sun  in  its  mirrored  surface  tomorrow  morning,  and 
I  will  consider  it  my  great  good  fortune  if  I  can 
be  of  real  assistance  to  you/' 

A  slight  flush  had  crept  into  the  rather  long 
distinctive  and  attractive  face  of  the  girl,  and  Lin- 
coln noted  with  relief  that  after  the  first  startled 
glance  nothing  of  fear  or  coldness  had  beclouded 
her  countenance,  but  that  she  was  quietly  braid- 
ing her  lovely  hair  into  a  long,  thick  braid,  as  she 
met  his  gaze.  When  he  had  ceased  speaking,  she 
quickly  replied: 

"I  am  glad  my  older  brother  has  come,  for  I 
do  need  assistance  about  as  badly  as  a  girl  could 
need  it.  I  did  not  intend  to  climb  to  the  lake,  but 
when  I  reached  the  bottom  of  the  cascades,  I  felt 
so  exhilirated  with  the  joy  of  climbing,  I  knew 
I  could  scale  the  steeps  and  return  to  the  main 
canyon  long  before  dark ;  so  I  ate  my  luncheon  and 
came  on  up  without  much  trouble. ' ' 

Glancing  upward  at  a  fissured  wall  of  rock,  she 
continued : 

''All  would  have  been  well  had  I  not  been 
tempted  by  a  beautiful  wild  flower,  which  you  can 
still  see  up  on  that  cleft  rock.  I  started  to  climb  for 
it,  my  foot  slipped,  I  struck  a  round  boulder  which 
turned  and  threw  me  prostrate  with  a  sprained 
ankle,  and  my  hair  came  down  as  you  can't  help 
seeing.  I  tried  to  walk,  but  the  pain  in  my  ankle 
was  too  great,  so  I  have  been  contemplating, 
pretty  dolefully,  the  spending  of  the  night  and 
perhaps  longer  up  here  before  my  ankle  would 
permit  of  dragging  myself  down  to  the  main  can- 
yon. ' ' 


EOMANCE  OF  THE  FIRST  DEGREE     93 

Then  she  added:  ''I  am  Mollie  Richards,  of 
the  Ogden  branch  of  that  family,  and,  of  course, 
I've  read  in  the  Society  Columns  of  the  news- 
papers about  Lincoln  Smith. ' ' 

Breaking  into  a  smile,  which  the  young  man 
found  wonderfully  fascinating,  she  spoke  again 
before  he  had  time  to  advise  her,  as  he  would  have 
liked  to,  that  if  she  had  read  that  portion  of  the 
Sporting  Page,  which  narrates  College  Athletics, 
she  would  have  found  his  name  more  frequently 
than  in  the  Society  news. 

As  she  slightly  shivered  she  said:  "May  I 
ask  you  to  build  a  fire.  I  find  that  bathing  my 
ankle  in  the  ice-cold  stream  has  chilled  me,  al- 
though it  seems  to  have  checked  the  swelling. ' ' 

In  a  trice,  the  roll  Lincoln  carried  on  his  back 
was  removed  and  unstrapped.  Inside  its  canvas 
cover  a  single  blanket  was  revealed,  together  with 
some  mysterious  small  packets  and  a  vacuum  bot- 
tle. 

First  wrapping  the  soft  blanket  around  the 
slender  shoulders  of  the  girl,  Lincoln  then  opened 
the  bottle  and  in  his  collapsible  cup  gave  her  a 
draught  of  delicious,  hot  coffee ;  precautions  which 
soon  sent  a  glow  through  her  body. 

With  active  steps  he  next  gathered,  from  a 
neighboring  clump  of  mountain  pines,  enough 
dead  branches  to  start  a  good  fire,  whose  light  re- 
lieved the  gathering  shadows  of  the  coming  night, 
and  then,  in  repeated  journeys,  he  assembled  a 
considerable  pile  of  the  firewood  to  provide  for 
the  late  hours  of  the  summer  night  which  at  such 
an  altitude  are  always  cold. 


94  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

With  cheering  words,  he  had  revealed  to  the 
watching  maid  the  very  acceptable  news  that  he 
had  a  good  lot  of  eatables  in  the  packets  which 
had  come  from  out  his  blanket  roll. 

When  he  returned  from  his  final  trip  to  the 
pines,  he  found  that  the  girl  had  utilized  the  can- 
vas cover  of  his  blanket  roll  for  a  table  spread, 
and  the  viands  he  had  carried  were  displayed 
thereon  in  picnic  fashion. 

Lincoln  was  a  thoughtful  young  man.  He 
knew  that  the  next  morning  would  bring  a  serious 
problem  to  them  both.  The  descent  of  a  precipi- 
tous rocky  mountain  trail  by  a  girl  with  a 
sprained  ankle  has  difficulties  which  appalled  him. 
So,  before  he  accepted  the  smiling  invitation  of 
the  young  woman  to  attend  her  " dinner  party," 
he  gravely  said  to  her : 

"Miss  Richards,  I  must  ask  you  about  your 
ankle.  We  are  so  far  from  any  assistance  I  fear 
that  without  other  help  we  must  try  to  get  you 
down  to  more  level  ground  tomorrow  morning, 
especially  as  our  food  is  very  limited.  My  horse 
is  picketed  in  a  grassy  glade  off  the  trail,  so  the 
rest  will  be  easy  after  we  have  reached  a  place 
where  he  can  be  brought,  but  if  we  can  drive  away 
most  of  your  pain  by  morning  it  will  be  a  great 
help.  I  suggest  that  you  permit  me  to  bandage 
the  ankle  with  my  linen  handkerchief  soaked  in 
the  cold  water  of  the  stream,  and  cover  that  band- 
age with  this  silk  handkerchief  I  am  wearing 
around  my  neck.  Then,  if  you  will  slit  your  hose 
at  the  ankle,  you  can  put  it  on  and  add  to  the  ef- 
fect of  the  bandage.  My  remedy  has  often  great- 
ly benefited  in  cases  of  ankle  sprain." 


ROMANCE  OF  THE  FIRST  DEGREE     95 

The  maiden  gave  a  most  musical  laugh  and  re- 
plied. "Well,  I  guess  I  have  anticipated  part  of 
your  remedy." 

"Whereupon  she  thrust  her  foot  from  under  the 
blanket,  which  had  enveloped  it  and  showed  it  clad 
in  her  stocking,  and  that  the  latter  had  been 'slit 
at  the  ankle  and  pinned  together  with  two  of  the 
convenient  little  gold  handy  pins,  which  are  such  a 
boon  to  femininity. 

She  then  continued:  "I  expected  to  beg  the 
loan  of  your  silk  handkerchief  for  a  dry  bandage, 
but  if  you  think  your  plan  is  best  we  will  adopt 
it." 

After  Lincoln  had  starred  in  his  part  of 
trained  nurse,  the  young  folks,  in  a  spirit  of  jol- 
lity, ate  rather  sparingly  of  the  luncheon,  because 
the  quantity  of  food  was  originally  intended  for 
only  two  meals  for  one  person,  and  morning  would 
bring  its  hunger. 

Then  there  came  a  revelation  to  Lincoln  which 
added  greatly  to  the  charm  which  the  girl  had 
woven  around  his  heart. 

Mollie  wished  to  determine  whether  she  could 
bear  her  weight  upon  the  injured  ankle  and  quietly 
arose  to  her  feet.  Standing  in  the  firelight  her 
form  for  the  first  time  was  disclosed  to  Lincoln, 
and  it  was  not  only  the  slender  grace  of  her  figure 
which  made  its  perfect  appeal  to  him,  but  he 
swiftly  realized  that  she  was  fully  as  tall  as  he 
was,  and  his  sturdy  figure  was  more  than  the  aver- 
age height  of  men  by  an  inch  and  a  half. 

To  her  delight  the  girl  found  that  the  ankle 
was  far  less  painful  than  it  had  been,  but  under 


96  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Lincoln's  experienced  advice,  she  did  not  attempt 
to  use  it  again  that  night. 

There  was  romance  hovering  in  the  brooding 
silence  when  the  young  couple  sank  down  beside 
the  fire. 

No  pair  cast  upon  an  uninhabited  isle  of  the 
sea  could  be  more  isolated  from  their  kind  than 
temporarily  were  these  mountain  climbers.  The 
young  man,  into  whose  heart  love  had  stolen  sud- 
denly through  unguarded  gates,  felt  the  impelling 
charm  of  the  girl's  presence,  alone  with  him  in 
the  solitude.  "What  the  girl's  inward  thoughts 
were  he  could  not  guess,  except  that  he  knew  she 
did  not  regard  him  unkindly. 

They  chatted  lightly  and  happily  for  a  time, 
and  then  followed  a  strange  conversation. 

As  Lincoln  remembered  long  afterwards,  the 
girl  had  turned  her  face  away  from  him  towards 
the  calm  mirrored  surface  of  the  lakelet,  in  which 
the  brilliant  stars,  shining  high  in  the  heavens, 
were  reflected  in  sparkling  beauty,  when  suddenly 
she  said: 

"Do  you  believe  in  the  polygamy  revelation 
given  to  Joseph  Smith?" 

Not  knowing  whether  he  was  forever  sealing 
the  book  of  fate  against  the  hope  which  his  heart 
had  whispered  to  him,  Lincoln,  in  sheer  honesty, 
answered  the  Mormon  maid : 

"Though  I  have  in  my  veins  the  same  blood 
as  Joseph  Smith  had,  and  though  my  grandfather 
ruled  the  Mormon  Church,  I  have  ceased  to  be  a 
Mormon,  and  my  only  ideal  of  marriage  is  that 
of  advanced  ethical  progress,  the  ideal  of  one  hus- 
band and  one  wife  living  together  in  unselfish  mu- 


ROMANCE  OF  THE  FIRST  DEGREE     97 

tual  love  and  service  and  devotion  until  death 
shall  part  them." 

The  averted  face  of  the  girl  betrayed  neither 
acquiescence  nor  dissent.  Then  he  continued: 

"I  hope  I  do  not  displease  you,  but  I  do  not 
believe  in  any  of  the  purported  revelations  to  Jo- 
seph Smith,  nor  other  purported  revelations  given 
to  Jews  of  the  Ancient  Days.  I  am  an  Evo- 
lutionist, who  believes  in  the  constant  Spiritual 
Evolution  of  Man  from  original  animalism  and 
ignorance  along  an  upward  pathway  to  higher 
intelligence  and  higher  spirituality." 

The  answer  of  the  maiden  left  Lincoln  in  dark- 
ness respecting  her  own  inner  beliefs,  but  also  af- 
forded him  a  ray  of  hope  for  the  future. 

"I  am  much  interested  in  what  you  have  said, 
and  if  you  care  to  call  on  me  at  my  sister 's  home 
in  Salt  Lake  City,  I  will  be  glad  to  learn  more  of 
your  beliefs.  An  inherited  religion  clings  around 
one  in  a  thousand  impelling  ways,  even  after  one 
is  compelled  to  reject  many  of  its  doctrines." 

Stretching  slim,  graceful  arms  above  her  head, 
she  added: 

*  'I  find  I  am  very  tired  and  sleepy.  I  am  sorry 
to  deprive  you  of  your  blanket,  but  I  suppose  I 
must.  I  thank  you  a  thousand  times  for  your  as- 
sistance. Good  night  and  pleasant  dreams. " 

With  fearless  confidence  in  this  stranger,  the 
maiden  wrapped  herself  in  his  blanket  and  shortly 
fell  asleep. 

When  the  young  man  was  certain  that  his  com- 
panion was  in  slumber,  he  quietly  arose  from  the 
grassy  bed  on  which  he  had  been  lying  and  found 
his  way  to  the  clump  of  pines,  where  he  selected  a 


98  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

slender  sapling  which  he  hacked  down  with  his 
knife.  Keturning  to  the  fire  he  gradually  trimmed 
it  to  smoothness  and  finally  shaped  it  into  a  prac- 
ticable alpenstock,  which  also  might  become  a 
serviceable  weapon  in  case  of  need. 

He  had  not  told  the  girl  that  as  he  climbed 
the  last  of  the  steeps,  he  had  seen  a  mountain  lion 
skulking  through  the  pines  and  occasionally  turn- 
ing to  look  at  the  girl  at  the  brook. 

Though  Lincoln  knew  that  thev  animal  was  not 
likely  to  attack  a  human  being  who  was  awake,  he 
feared  that  if  both  were  in  slumber  and  the  fire 
died  down,  the  prowler  might  make  a  savage  at- 
tack. 

So  through  all  the  night  he  held  sleep  in  check 
and  quietly  patrolled  the  little  grass  plot,  occa- 
sionally renewing  the  fire,  which  of  itself  is  a  pro- 
tection against  wild  beasts.  If  he  glanced  num- 
berless times  at  the  shaded  face  and  blanket 
draped  form  of  the  sleeping  girl,  he  was  certain 
she  knew  it  not,  for  apparently  her  slumber  was 
deep. 

He  realized  that  she  could  not  know  that  his 
heart  was  singing  a  song  without  words,  which 
was  vibrant  with  the  new  found  love  and  devotion 
for  his  fair  companion,  whom  he  had  so  strangely 
met.  With  the  reverence  which  soul  love  engend- 
ers, he  often  looked  up  at  the  stars  and  back  to 
the  sleeping  maid  with  thoughts  akin  to  spiritual 
worship. 

Did  she  dream  of  her  rescuer?  Dreams  are 
strange,  vagrant,  irresponsible  things,  so  who  can 
say. 


Dawn  came  at  last  and  the  wearied  young  man 
stepped  to  the  brook  and  repeatedly  dashed  the 
refreshing  cold  water  over  face  and  head  and 
bare  neck. 

"Good  morning,  Brother  Mine,  did  you  turn 
on  the  hot  water  faucet  to  take  the  chill  off?" 

Thus,  merrily  Mollie  made  Lincoln  aware  that 
she  was  awake  and  he  saw  that  she  had  arisen  to 
her  feet. 

Again  the  personality  of  the  girl  made  its  per- 
fect appeal  to  the  young  man,  and  as  she  slowly 
walked  over  to  the  brook  side,  testing  her  ankle 
as  she  went,  his  eyes  could  not  avoid  betraying 
his  secret.  Love  leaps  into  eyes  when  the  loved 
one  appears.  But  the  maid  seemed  unconscious 
of  his  glances  and  chiefly  interested  in  the  fact 
that  her  ankle  was  much  better,  though  still  re- 
minding her  of  her  misfortune. 

It  was  decided  that  as  soon  as  the  sun  mounted 
the  crests  of  the  Eastward  crags  and  cast  its  rays 
into  the  mirrored  face  of  the  lake  they  would  es- 
say the  toilsome  descent. 

With  great  sweetness,  Mollie  gave  fine  artis- 
tic appreciation  to  the  fulfillment  of  Lincoln's 
mission  to  the  lakelet,  and  thus  bound  his  heart 
with  stronger  cords.  She  loved  nature  and  had 
painted  in  water  colors. 

Just  how  she  came  down  the  steeps  Mollie 
could  never  recollect.  It  was  a  confusing  succes- 
sion of  strenuous  efforts  for  herself  and  her 
sturdy  companion. 

So  often  at  the  start  was  the  alpenstock  inade- 
quate to  prevent  severe  twinges  in  her  ankle,  she 


100  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

gradually  yielded  her  form  more  and  more  to  the 
helpful  strong  arms  of  the  young  man. 

Compelled  a  hundred  times  into  his  arms  and 
a  score  into  closest  embrace  as  the  rocky  steeps 
were  slowly  overcome,  she  finally  was  landed 
breathless  and  blushing  upon  a  grassy  mound  at 
the  commencement  of  the  more  level  ground. 

Her  first  conclusion  was,  that  in  spite  of  the  in- 
timacy of  the  descent,  she  had  been  treated  with 
rare  courtesy  and  that  only  the  absolutely  neces- 
sary had  governed  his  efforts  for  her  safety. 

Do  you  think  she  still  deemed  him  chivalrous 
when  after  he  had  brought  his  horse  to  where  she 
was  resting  he  stepped  up  to  her  and  quietly  said : 

1  'Miss  Richards — no,  I  will  call  you  Mollie — 
I  have  loved  you  from  the  first  moment  I  saw  you 
and  I  ask  you  to  marry  me/' 

Do  you  think  such  a  declaration  would  appeal 
to  the  heart  of  the  maid  under  all  the  circum- 
stances ? 

With  a  sense  of  f  aintness,  Mollie  leaned  against 
the  rock  which  backed  her  seat,  and  her  expressive 
face  turned  pale  and  then  flamed  in  hot  blushes. 
The  suddenness  of  the  proposal  literally  took  her 
breath,  but  as  the  young  man  stood  silently  before 
her,  with  eyes  which  expressed  both  love  and  rev- 
erence, she  gradually  recovered  her  poise. 

Swift  reflection  led  her  to  say: 

"Mr.  Smith,  I  am  just  beginning  to  realize 
what  you  have  said.  It  has  come  to  me  as  if  by 
telepathy  that  you  chose  this  time  to  make  your 
strange  declaration  because  you  felt  some  pres- 
sure of  necessity  which  I  have  not  yet  fathomed. 
May  I  ask  you  for  a  little  time  to  reflect?" 


Suddenly  her  face  cleared,  and  the  look  she 
gave  Lincoln  caused  his  heart  to  beat  tumultu- 
ously.  Then  she  said: 

'  *  My  nice  brother,  your  proffered  sacrifice  need 
not  be  placed  on  the  altar  of  chivalry,  but  I  appre- 
ciate it  with  all  my  soul,  and  all  the  more  because 
you  added  the  solace  of  admiration,  for  the  ease  of 
my  heart." 

Meeting  his  gaze  with  eyes  which  had  become 
inscrutable,  she  added:  "The  breath  of  the  scan- 
dal you  feared  cannot  harm  me  and  the  shield 
you  offered  is  not  necessary.  I  came  out  of  Can- 
yon Glen  over  a  little  trail  which  passes  through 
the  pines  back  of  my  sister's  cabin  and  none  of 
the  gossips  of  the  Glen  have  any  idea  of  my  ex- 
periences. My  sister  supposes  I  am  at  my  girl 
chum's,  farther  down  the  canyon,  so  when  I  have 
mounted  your  horse  you  can  lead  him  back  on  the 
little  trail  and  only  my  sister  need  know  of  our 
adventures." 

Lincoln  drew  a  deep  breath  and  made  answer: 

"I  am  very  glad  you  divined  my  object  and  I 
am  more  than  glad  that  you  are  so  well  guarded 
against  certain  bitter  tongues  which  I  happen  to 
know  are  at  the  Glen  and  against  which  I  sought 
to  shield  you  with  the  protection  of  my  name  and 
devotion. ' ' 

Then  smiling  whimsically,  he  added:  "All 
present  need  being  eliminated,  some  time  in  the 
future,  won't  you  let  me  discuss  with  you  the 
sincerity  of  what  you  call  'the  solace  of  admira- 
tion'?" 

It  is  part  of  the  history  of  the  next  few  months 
that  Lincoln  attempted  several  times  to  discuss 


102  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

the  subject  of  "the  solace  of  admiration"  with 
his  companion  of  the  mountain  lakelet,  but  that 
Mollie  proved  very  skilful  in  avoiding  a  renewal 
of  his  declaration,  so  much  so  that  the  young  man 
grew  faint-hearted  of  ever  winning  her  love  in 
response  to  his  own,  which  had  remained  deep  and 
steadfast. 

In  the  meantime  they  had  freely  discussed  the 
subjects  of  religion  and  evolution  until  Mollie 
knew  all  his  beliefs.  She  learned,  too,  when  the 
Society  of  Progress  had  been  organized  and  she 
voluntarily  requested  Lincoln  to  provide  for  her 
initiation  into  the  First  Degree  of  the  Society,  for 
many  women  were  among  those  who  sought  the 
knowledge  of  the  Seven  Degrees. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  CHAMBER  OF  TRUTH — THE  FIRST  DEGREE. 

THROUGH  the  Door  of  Truth,  led  by  Naomi 
Snowson,  Mollie  Richards  entered  the 
Realm  of  Truth,  and  when  the  door  was 
closed,  she  saw  that  farther  entrance  was  barred 
by  a  tall,  graceful  bronze  gate,  back  of  which  hung 
heavy  dark  green  curtains,  effectually  excluding 
any  glimpses  of  the  Chamber  of  Truth. 

A  voice  came  through  the  curtains  in  slow, 
solemn,  passionless  tones. 

"  Sister  of  all  the  World,  on  the  threshold  of 
the  Chamber  of  Truth,  for  the  sake  of  the  peace  of 
your  own  soul,  if  you  would  proceed  further  you 
must  be  willing  to  be  taught  the  supreme  value  to 
yourself  and  to  all  humanity  of  the  great  truths 
of  the  universe  and  of  man's  origin,  history  and 
destiny.  Nothing  which  we  believe  to  be  incapa- 
ble of  verification  and  acceptance  by  every  intelli- 
gent human  being,  if  he  or  she  will  seek  such 
Truths  with  mental  and  spiritual  honesty,  will  be 
taught  to  you." 

"Before  the  gate  is  opened  and  the  curtains 
are  parted,  you  must  read  the  message  with  which 
the  Society  of  Progress  greets  you. 

1 '  Turn  to  the  door  you  entered  and  before  you 
answer  it,  read  for  seven  times,  with  great  atten- 
tion, the  message  which  appears  upon  the  door." 

When  the  voice  had  ceased,  silently  aided  by 
Naomi  Snowson,  Mollie  turned  around  and  found 

103 


104  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

before  her,  upon  the  back  of  the  Door  of  Truth, 
these  inscriptions  blazoned  in  gold  upon  the  broad 
smooth  ebony  of  the  door: 


DARE  YOU  SEEK  THE  TRUTH? 

"A  religious  teacher  of  ancient  days,  even 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  once  said  to  certain  Jews, 
"Ye  shall  know  the  Truth  and  the  Truth  shall 
make  you  free." 

The  Beloved  Philosopher  who  founded  the 
Society  of  Progress  has  said: 

"You  MUST  know  the  Truth  if  your 
Souls  shall  be  Free." 

Jesus  was  teaching  converts  to  a  religious 
sect,  as  the  context  shows,  while  the  Beloved 
Philosopher  speaks  to  every  human  soul. 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  TRUTH  105 


Exalted   conceptions   of   God,   whatever  j 
their  source,  are  worthy,  even  though  min-  j 
gled  with  misconceptions  which  must  be  re- 
jected.  In  the  Book  of  Psalms,  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible,  it  is  said: 

"The  Truth  of  the  Lord  endureth  for- 
ever." 

The  Beloved  Philosopher  says: 

"All  Truth  is  of  God,  and  leads  to  God 
and,  you  can  truly  learn  God's  truth  only  by 
seeking  for  it  with  all  the  intelligence  with 
which  you  are  endowed. 

"The  Realm  of  Truth  is  vast  and  limit- 
less, and  finite  knowledge  can  never  fathom 
its  entirety,  but  science  is  constantly  bringing 
to  man  sure  revelations  of  God's  Truth,  which 
man  must  accept  or  he  is  a  slave  in  spirit." 


106  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 


The  Society  of  Progress  asks  you  to  an- 
swer to  your  guide  these  questions: 

FIRST:  Are  you  willing  to  seek  the 
Truth,  though  it  shall  utterly  destroy  the  re- 
ligious faith  you  now  have? 

SECOND:  Are  you  willing,  honestly  and 
calmly,  to  weigh  every  purported  revelation 
from  God,  whether  it  professes  to  have  been 
made  to  Joseph  Smith,  or  to  Mahomet,  or  to  a 
Jewish  prophet,  or  to  any  other  human  being, 
and  if  the  truths  revealed  by  science  demon- 
strate such  claimed  revelation  to  be  false,  are 
you  willing  to  reject  it,  though  it  be  the  very 
foundation  of  your  present  religious  beliefs? 

THIRD:  Are  you  willing  to  be  taught 
the  higher  truths  about  God,  even  though 
they  destroy  conceptions  which  you  have 
cherished  as  your  most  sacred  faith  in  Him, 
and  though  they  compel  you  to  accept  a  new 
faith  founded  in  the  great  truths  of  the  uni- 
verse which  science  reveals? 

DARE  YOU  SEEK  THE  TRUTH? 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  TRUTH          107 

Though  in  part  prepared  for  the  solemn  soul- 
searching  questions  which  shone  on  the  ebony 
door,  Mollie  Richards  read  the  whole  message  al- 
most with  a  shock,  as  she  realized  the  overwhelm- 
ing importance  of  its  fateful  words. 

It  might  mean  "a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth,"  a  slain  religion  and  a  rejected  faith,  a  new 
religion  and  a  scientific  faith. 

Her  talks  with  Lincoln  Smith  had  led  her  far 
afield  from  orthodoxy,  but  this  Society  seemed 
ruthless  in  its  ravage  of  the  soul. 

Nothing  seemed  sacred  to  the  Society  but 
Truth  and  nothing  seemed  to  be  Truth  but  that 
which  all  men  could  verify  through  scientific 
knowledge. 

As  she  read  the  message  again  and  again,  pon- 
dering every  word,  she  began  to  see  that  the 
pledge  which  was  sought  did  not  bind  her  to 
accept  a  single  teaching  of  the  Society,  but  simply 
made  honesty  of  spirit  and  diligence  in  seeking  the 
Truth  the  reverential  promise  she  must  make  ere 
the  fateful  curtains  should  be  parted. 

Ere  the  seven  readings  of  the  message  of  the 
Society  were  ended  Mollie 's  soul,  in  exalted  mood, 
had  grown  to  a  feeling  that  it  was  to  God  Himself 
that  her  pledge  must  be  made. 

All  curiosity  about  the  Realm  beyond  the 
lovely  drapery  had  been  submerged  in  a  feeling 
of  solemn  awe,  as  though  she  stood  at  the  entrance 
of  a  true  ''holy  of  holies." 

At  last  she  turned  to  Naomi  Snowson  and  said : 
"I  will  seek  the  Truth  with  an  open  mind,  no  mat- 
ter where  it  shall  lead  me." 


108  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Then,  silently  the  bronze  gate  swung  open  and 
the  heavy  dark  green  curtains  gracefully  parted, 
revealing  a  chamber  of  extreme  beauty. 

The  reverse  of  the  curtains  showed  a  gleaming 
white  satin, ' '  like  unto  samite  mystic  wonderful, ' ' 
adorned  with  most  graceful  traceries  of  shining 
gold  embroidery,  while  the  whole  chamber  glis- 
tened in  a  rich  shade  of  white  with  gold  bands  and 
wonderfully  designed  arabesques,  all  brought  to 
full  glory  in  the  resplendence  of  a  myriad  of  flash- 
ing electric  lights. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  tale  to  give  the 
ritual  of  the  Society  of  Progress  in  its  entirety, 
but  only  to  glimpse  the  scheme  of  its  great  in- 
struction. 

When  Naomi  Snowson  and  Mollie  Eichards 
had  entered  the  Chamber  of  Truth  and  again  the 
curtains  were  closed,  Mollie  was  led  to  an  easy 
seat  before  a  low  altar  upon  which  a  book  bound 
in  pure  white  rested. 

Then,  to  Mollie 's  surprise,  Lincoln  Smith,  clad 
in  a  robe  of  white,  stepped  through  a  little  door 
and  advanced  to  the  desk  of  the  altar  and  opened 
the  book. 

With  eyes  which  were  eloquent  of  his  heart, 
he  first  looked  into  Mollie 's  eyes  and,  then  remem- 
bering his  duty,  he  said: 

"Sister  of  all  the  world,  we  ask  you  to  listen 
to  the  words  of  the  Beloved  Philosopher  who 
founded  our  Society,  as  he  offers  you  instruction 
upon  the  Necessity  of  Mankind  that  Truth  shall 
prevail  and  that  all  Error  shall  be  destroyed." 

Then,  in  Lincoln's  measured  and  masterly 
tones,  for  full  half  an  hour  Mollie  heard  this  great 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  TRUTH          109 

foundation  principle  of  the  Society  of  Progress 
expressed  in  the  simple,  but  powerful,  eloquence 
of  its  Founder. 

But  feebly  can  this  tale  summarize  the  mes- 
sage which  aroused  the  souls  of  almost  all  who 
heard  it  to  firm  resolve  that,  despite  all  previous 
teachings,  they  would  during  all  their  lives  seek 
the  Truth,  and  God,  through  the  Truth. 

The  first  idea  expressed  was  that  all  human 
progress  must  be  based  on  accumulated  knowledge 
of  all  the  realities; 

That  garnering  of  facts  is  the  garnering  of 
truth; 

That  mankind  came  to  know  the  truth  respect- 
ing our  Earth  and  its  little  subordinate  place  in 
the  vast  universe  only  by  gradual  accretions  of 
knowledge,  these  accumulations  of  truths  finally 
leading  to  the  great  advances  in  human  compre- 
hension of  the  universe  which  have  been  gained 

during  the  last  three  hundred  years. 

*  *       * 

Then,  the  dreadful  consequences  of  supersti- 
tion and  fear,  the  products  of  ignorance  and  of 
cruelty,  its  close  associate,  were  dwelt  upon. 

The  frightful  torturings  inflicted  by  ignorant 
religious  fanaticism  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
the  great  efforts  made  in  the  name  of  Christ,  to 
suppress  and  to  destroy  the  discoveries  of  scien- 
tific investigators  and  to  imprison  and  to  kill  the 

discoverers,  were  graphically  depicted. 

#  *       * 

Next  the  instruction  took  the  listening  initiate 
through  the  stern  necessity  in  economic  progress, 
that  the  principles — the  truths — of  electricity  and 


110  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

chemistry,  and  physics,  and  biology,  should  have 
been  spelled  out  or  such  progress  never  could  have 
occurred. 

Finally  the  hearer  was  told  that  to  attempt  to 
exclude  strict  investigation  of  the  claims  to  verity 
of  each  and  every  religion  now  extant,  and  to  de- 
termine whether  its  teachings  and  its  sacred  books 
conflict  or  harmonize  with  the  realm  of  truth, 
would  result  only  in  self-delusion  and  spiritual 
degeneracy. 

That  every  free  soul  owed  an  imperative  duty 
to  itself  and  to  the  Infinite  One  to  seek  all  truth 
with  open  mind  and  untrammeled  vision  was 
strongly  urged  as  the  climax  of  the  instruction. 

The  last  words  of  this  great  message  were 
these:  "The  Society  of  Progress  of  necessity  in 
seeking  the  Truth  must  ruthlessly  slay  the  soul 
slavery  of  Error,  but  it  pledges  you  a  new  and 
higher  Faith  to  meet  the  spiritual  needs  of  your 
soul,  if  you  will  be  brave  and  honest  in  verifying 
its  instruction." 

When  the  message  was  ended  and  the  book 
was  closed,  Lincoln  thus  addressed  the  waiting 
girl: 

"  Sister  of  all  the  World,  are  you  still  willing 
to  go  on  through  the  other  degrees  of  our  Society 
and  seek  the  Truth,  in  all  sincerity,  and  with  all 
the  intelligence  with  which  you  are  endowed  1  You 
may  simply  say,  'I  am,'  or  'I  prefer  to  go  no  far- 
ther,' as  your  soul  shall  express  its  desire." 

There  was  no  hesitancy  in  Mollie's  answer  as 
she  clearly  replied,  "I  am,"  and  then  Lincoln 
added: 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  TRUTH          111 

"At  other  times  you  will  be  guided  succes- 
sively to  the  several  doors  of  the  Chambers  of 
Origins,  and  there  be  instructed  in  what  our 
'Lesser  Master,'  Darwin  Snowson,  has  called  'The 
New  Genesis.'  On  behalf  of  our  Society,  I  now 
welcome  you  as  a  Disciple  of  Progress." 

Stepping  down  from  the  altar,  Lincoln  ex- 
tended his  hand  to  Mollie,  whose  face  still  bore 
the  look  of  exaltation  which  the  message  of  the 
Beloved  Philosopher  had  brought  to  it. 

Naomi  Snowson,  expectant  of  another  initiate, 
had  withdrawn  beyond  the  curtains,  so,  for  a  little 
while,  it  chanced  that  Mollie  and  Lincoln  were 
alone  in  the  lovely  room. 

As  Lincoln's  hand  touched  hers,  he  said: 
"Mollie,  I  am  very  glad  you  are  going  to  belong 
to  our  Society.  You  know  that  there  is  no  one  in 
the  world  I  would  rather  welcome  and  to  have 
share  in  my  beliefs. ' ' 

Mollie  caught  the  intense  personal  note  in  his 
voice  and,  with  a  slight  blush  and  starry  eyes 
beautifying  her  face,  she  suddenly  said:  "How 
far  do  you  wish  me  to  go  in  valuing  your  words  ? ' ' 

She  had  not  withdrawn  her  hand  from  his  and 
with  a  sudden  feeling  of  barriers  removed,  Lincoln 
quickly  said': 

"I  told  you  the  very  truth,  when  I  asked  you 
to  marry  me,  that  wonderful  morning  in  the 
mountains,  even  though  I  felt  the  immediate  ne- 
cessity of  guarding  your  good  name.  I  have  loved 
you  from  the  first  moment  my  eyes  met  yours  and 
I  want  you  as  my  life  comrade  more  than  words 
can  express.  I  tell  you  this  again  now,  because 
your  question  seemed  to  ask  the  truth." 


112  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Suddenly  placing  her  hands  on  Lincoln's  broad 
shoulders  with  a  direct  gaze  into  his  eyes  Mollie 
softly  said: 

"Lincoln,  my  lover,  I  have  a  confession  to 
make  to  you.  Here  in  this  Chamber  of  Truth  I 
will  bare  my  soul  to  you.  The  dear  play  of  tan- 
talizing my  lover  sweetheart  must  now  end.  You 
think  that  the  first  time  I  saw  you  was  on  the  fate- 
ful evening  at  our  lakelet. ' ' 

She  smiled  beautifully  as  she  added :  ' 

' '  You  were  slow  in  finding  your  mate.  On  the 
day  you  broke  the  State  Collegiate  record  in  the 
half-mile  run  I  was  in  an  automobile  just  outside 
the  railing  at  the  point  where  you  stopped  with 
drawn  face  and  panting  lungs. 

"You  glanced  at  me  in  an  unseeing  way,  but 
I  knew  my  mate ;  so  when  you  came  to  me  at  the 
lakelet  I  knew  who  you  were  and  much  about  you 
which  I  had  quietly  learned  from  our  mutual 
friends. ' ' 

Still  restraining  Lincoln's  avaricious  arms, 
she  went  on : 

"Wait,  my  sweetheart,  I  have  more  to  confess. 
I  never  have  been  a  Mormon  except  by  descent. 

"My  father  and  mother,  both  of  whom  are 
dead,  forsook  that  faith  when  they  were  young, 
but  because  my  life's  happiness  depended  upon 
your  entire  disconnection  from  every  shred  of 
your  grandfather's  religion,  I  have  waited  and 
tested  you  in  a  hundred  ways.  And  yet  I  haven't 
doubted  you,  Lincoln;  but  your  family  is  so  en- 
folded in  the  slime  of  polygamy,  I  feared  while  I 
trusted. 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  TRUTH         113 

"You  have  proven  pure  gold,  and  fear  is  gone 
and  infinite  trust  remains,  so  if  you  want  me,  my 
lover,  you  can  have  me  as  your  life  comrade. ' ' 

Then  her  soft  arms  stole  around  his  neck,  as 
his  own  quickly  drew  her  to  his  close  embrace  and 
their  lips  met  in  the  final  surrender  of  mutual 
love. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  romance  of  Lincoln  Smith 
and  Mollie  Richards  flowered  into  happiness  in 
the  beautiful  Chamber  of  Truth. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  SECOND  DEGREE. 

WALDEMAB  GRANT,  scion  of  one  of  the 
''Royal  Families"  of  Mormondom,  had 
but  recently  forsaken  the  faith  of  his 
fathers. 

He  had  inherited  the  business  instincts  of  his 
grandfather,  an  apostle  of  the  Church,  of  whom  it 
was  said,  "he  is  not  so  religious  as  to  hurt  his 
business, ' '  which  also  could  have  been  said  truth- 
fully of  many  others  of  the  "Twelve." 

Wicked  "Gentiles"  were  wont  to  say  that 
"prophet,"  the  ecclesiastical  designation  of  these 
apostles,  should  have  been  spelled  "profit,"  as  the 
close  union  of  the  leaders  of  the  Church  with 
trusts  and  monopolies  in  sugar  and  salt  had  been 
established  through  prosecutions  of  the  United 
States  Government  in  enforcing  anti-trust  laws; 
and  the  leaders  always  enhanced  their  private  for- 
tunes through  swollen  profits  in  business  ventures, 
exacted  from  their  own  lowlier  brethren,  as  well 
as  through  the  severe  exaction  from  the  devout, 
though  misguided  laity,  of  tithes,  which,  by  al- 
leged revelation  to  Joseph  Smith,  belonged  to  "my 
holy  priesthood." 

But  Waldemar  Grant  had  not  fallen  to  the 
tempting  bait  which  the  Mormon  Church  has  ever 
held  out  to  its  leading  young  men,  namely,  first 
professional  patronage  and  then  gradual  advance- 
ment to  higher  and  higher  ecclesiastical  position 

114 


with  widening  opportunities  for  profit  and,  at  last, 
the  enormous  Tithing  Fund. 

A  fighting  editor  who  battled  long  in  Utah  for 
civilization  and  against  Mormon  degeneracy  and 
retrogression  was  wont  to  say  that  the  Tithing 
Fund  and  its  adjuncts  had  made  more  hypocrites 
of  intelligent  young  men  in  Utah  than  existed  any- 
where else  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Waldemar,  besides  being  a  natural  mechanic, 
had  early  developed  a  liking  for  mining,  with  the 
result  that  he  had  persuaded  his  father  to  permit 
him  to  take  a  thorough  course  in  Mechanical  and 
Mining  Engineering  at  a  leading  Eastern  Univer- 
sity. 

In  the  Spring  and  early  Summer  of  1932,  be- 
fore Darwin  Snowson  had  come  on  his  great 
mission,  Waldemar  had  spent  several  months 
westward  of  Salt  Lake  City,  far  beyond  the  great 
Salt  Lake  near  the  Nevada  line  in  the  Broad  Creek 
Mining  District,  and  the  Summer  following  the 
organization  of  the  Society  of  Progress  he  was 
again  called  there. 

Long  devoid  of  necessary  transportation,  this 
mining  camp  had  at  last  come  to  its  own  through 
the  building  of  a  branch  line  of  railway  close  to  its 
shafts  and  tunnels. 

"Waldemar,  as  part  owner  of  one  of  its  mines 
on  Copper  Hill,  which  is  really  a  mountain,  had 
been  directing  the  development  of  the  ores  within 
the  veins  of  the  mines. 

Below  the  hill,  stretching  northward  far  be- 
yond the  horizon,  is  an  actual  desert;  not  the 
desert  of  sagebrush  or  greasewood,  which  needs 
only  water  to  spring  into  great  fertility  and  which 


116 

is  peopled  with  little  birds  and  small  creatures  of 
several  kinds,  but  the  sullen,  forbidding  alkali 
desert,  with  its  great  surplusage  of  salts  and  upon 
which  no  spear  of  grass  or  tiny  shrub  or  bird  or 
animal  can  live. 

Once,  in  ages  of  geological  time  long  past,  the 
Great  Salt  Sea  was  enormously  larger. 

To  the  East  it  gulfed  the  ground  upon  which 
Salt  Lake  City,  Ogden  and  Provo  stand,  and  had 
only  the  Wasatch  Mountains  as  the  shore  upon 
which  its  waves  dashed. 

Far  to  the  South  and  far  to  the  North  its  then 
greatly  fresher  waters  covered  the  now  exceed- 
ingly fertile  valleys,  while  to  the  Westward,  even 
to  points  beyond  the  Nevada  line,  its  great  ex- 
panse stretched  majestically. 

Three  separate  shore  lines,  now  most  plainly 
discernible  at  hundreds  of  points,  stretching  in 
level  bands  at  separate  heights  along  the  base  of 
the  mountains,  tell  the  story  of  its  reluctant  reces- 
sions. 

The  final  recession,  to  the  West,  left  open  to 
the  sky  the  alkali  desert  which  once  in  that  section 
bottomed  the  waters  of  Lake  Bonneville,  as  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey  has  designated 
the  vast  prehistoric  sea. 

But,  when  Waldemar  gazed  upon  this  desert 
that  June  day  which  brought  its  fateful  hours  into 
his  life,  it  was  only  with  thoughts  of  how,  in  the 
cool  of  the  evening,  he  would  make  a  final  trial  of  a 
remarkable  adaptation  of  air  and  land  navigation 
which  he  had  devised. 

The  aero-hydroplane,  as  everyone  knows,  had 
long  ago  made  air  flights  over  relatively  smooth 


EOMANCE  OF  SECOND  DEGREE     117 

water  comparatively  safe,  but  it  had  pleased  Wal- 
demar  to  invent  what  he  called  a  "Sahara  plane." 

The  flat  desert,  ever  in  view,  had  tempted  him 
to  the  construction  of  a  machine  which  combined 
the  principles  of  the  automobile  and  the  aeroplane, 
so  that  scarce  touching  the  flat  surface  of  the 
desert  with  its  strong  skeleton  wheels  when  in 
ordinary  service,  the  whole  plane  could  be  raised 
quickly  for  short  flights  over  the  slimy  ooze  of 
the  treacherous  alkaline  pools,  which  here  and 
there  recur  in  the  desert. 

He  had  hoped  to  perfect  his  machine  so  that 
the  shifting  sand  plains  of  the  great  Sahara  of 
Africa  could  be  navigated  commercially  by  his 
craft  adapted  to  carrying  much  heavier  loads 
than  aeroplanes. 

Short  trial  spins  had  given  him  confidence  in 
his  machine  and  he  had  planned  to  make  a 
straight-away  drive  of  nearly  sixty  miles  north- 
easterly to  a  station  of  the  transcontinental  rail- 
way which  stretches  its  shining  rails  westwardly 
across  the  desert  from  this  point. 

Many  aeroplanes,  disdaining  the  desert,  made 
constant  flight  from  Salt  Lake  City  over  the 
dreary  waste  just  north  of  Copper  Hill,  past  Ger- 
man Mountain,  on  to  the  great  low-grade  copper 
mining  city  of  Eastern  Nevada,  and  back  again 
in  recurrent  flights. 

So  it  was  not  with  surprise  that  Waldemar  saw 
a  beautiful  little  safety  aeroplane  round  German 
Mountain  and  head  across  the  desert,  but  when  it 
turned  suddenly  as  if  by  caprice  and  headed 
straight  for  Copper  Hill,  he  became  much  inter- 
ested. 


118  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Absurdly  bird-like,  the  aeroplane  came  rap- 
idly on  and  soon  hovered  over  the  spot  where  he 
was  standing. 

He  saw  that  its  sole  occupant  was  a  girl  whose 
face  was  effectually  disguised  with  goggles  and 
veil,  much-needed  precautions  against  the  desert 
sun. 

As  he  instinctively  doffed  his  hat,  with  down- 
ward swoop  the  aeroplane  almost  brushed  his 
head,  and,  to  his  amazement,  he  heard  a  musical 
voice  say: 

"How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Waldemar?  Of  course 
you  don't  recognize  me,  but  I  haven't  forgiven  you 
for  pulling  my  hair  the  last  time  we  met.  I  may 
sometime,  but  I  think  I'll  let  you  puzzle  a  little 
over  the  identity  of  your  caller.  Good-bye. ' ' 

With  that  up  swerved  the  planes  and  away 
for  the  desert  sped  the  air  craft,  while  Waldemar, 
both  perplexed  and  vexed,  stepped  into  the  shop 
and  brought  out  his  field  glasses. 

No  familiar  curve  or  pose  revealed  the  sought- 
for  recollection  which  the  voice  of  his  tantalizing 
caller  had  faintly  stirred  in  his  memory. 

But  Waldemar,  with  the  eye  of  the  mechanic, 
had  impressed  every  feature  of  the  aeroplane  on 
his  brain  and  he  knew  he  could  identify  it  amongst 
a  thousand.  Somewhat  grimly,  he  promised  him- 
self that  he  would  do  so  soon  in  Salt  Lake  City 
without  realizing  that  he  wished  to  hear  that  voice 
again  more  than  anything  else. 

He  little  knew  that  it  would  be  almost  instantly 
that  great  need  for  his  help  should  come  to  the 
merry  maid  who  had  so  gaily  bantered  him. 


EOMANCE  OF  SECOND  DEGREE     119 

Working  at  his  machine,  Waldemar  cast  occa- 
sional glances  at  the  rapidly  diminishing  air  craft 
and  was  suddenly  startled,  as  he  took  what  he 
thought  might  be  a  last  look,  to  see  the  aeroplane 
swerve  out  of  its  course  and  make  long  downward 
spirals  towards  the  face  of  the  desert. 

Clutching  his  glasses  he  watched  the  descent 
of  the  machine  until  at  last  it  fluttered  to  rest  on 
the  sunbeaten  flatness  and  the  unknown  girl 
stepped  from  it  and  began  examining  it. 

As  he  watched,  though  far  distant,  he  dis- 
tinctly saw  her  stoop  to  look  at  the  gasoline  tanks 
and  quickly  rise  and  turn  toward  the  distant  hill 
where  he  stood,  and  hold  out  her  hands,  as  though 
despairingly  asking  for  help. 

Waldemar  knew  in  a  moment  what  had  hap- 
pened. 

Marooned  in  the  midst  of  the  great  waste, 
without  motive  power,  the  plight  of  the  girl  would 
indeed  have  been  terrible  if  no  watcher  had  dis- 
covered it.  While  he  knew  she  could  not  see  him 
unless  she  had  field  glasses,  he  also  realized  the 
urgent  need  of  the  unknown. 

On  the  very  top  of  Copper  Hill,  Waldemar  had 
erected  a  huge  flagpole,  on  which  he  had  planned 
that  Old  Glory  should  wave  on  every  holiday. 

Eushing  to  his  cabin  he  got  the  great  flag  and 
soon  it  was  hoisted  to  the  top  of  the  pole,  where  a 
breeze  floated  it  in  swelling  beauty. 

Returning  to  his  glasses,  Waldemar  saw  the 
girl  frantically  wave  her  arms  towards  his  signal 
flag,  as  a  shipwrecked  mariner  welcomes  the  com- 
ing of  rescuers,  and  then  she  suddenly  dropped  to 


120  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

the  ground  and  apparently  stretched  prone  on  the 
desert. 

Alarmed  beyond  measure,  Waldemar  hur- 
riedly prepared  his  "Sahara  plane"  for  service, 
adding  to  his  equipment  an  extra  tank  of  gasoline 
and  a  supply  of  cold  water  in  his  vacuum  bottle. 
Three  times  had  he  paused  and  strained  his  eyes 
through  the  powerful  glasses  to  see  if  the  distant 
girl  had  moved,  but  in  vain.  Then  he  pushed  his 
machine  off  the  slides  upon  which  it  rested  and  it 
glided  smoothly  down  to  the  surface  of  the  desert. 

Glancing  once  more  through  the  glasses  at  the 
now  scarcely  discernible  spot  on  the  level  surface, 
Waldemar  thought  he  could  not  see  the  girl,  but 
his  angle  of  vision  being  now  so  different  he  could 
not  tell  positively. 

Then  starting  the  engines  of  his  craft,  he  grad- 
ually increased  the  speed  until  he  was  traveling 
much  faster  than  he  ever  had  before,  but  his 
machine  proved  staunch  and  sped  on,  spurning 
the  clutch  of  the  desert. 

The  voice  of  the  girl,  bantering  and  sweet, 
rang  in  Waldemar 's  ears  during  all  his  swift  trip 
to  the  motionless  airship  huddled  on  the  baked, 
shimmering,  mirage-creating  surface  of  the  alkali 
waste. 

As  he  neared  the  objective  point  he  suddenly 
saw  the  unknown  maid  seated  under  the  shadows 
of  the  upper  plane  and  watching  his  approach 
with  great  interest.  Relieved  from  his  dread,  for 
the  girl,  of  prostration  from  the  intense  heat 
which  the  desert  engenders,  he  skilfully  brought 
his  machine  to  rest  alongside  the  dethroned  air- 
ship. 


ROMANCE  OF  SECOND  DEGREE    121 

Without  goggles  and  with  veil  thrown  back,  the 
girl  advanced  to  meet  him,  saying : 

"I  never  saw  anything  in  my  life  half  so  good 
as  your  great  flag  when  it  signalled  that  you  knew 
my  plight,  unless  it  was  the  queer  ship  of  the 
desert  in  which  you  have  come  to  my  rescue.  I 
just  dropped  down  flat  and  had  a  good  cry  to 
relieve  my  nerves.  I  suppose  you  know  me  now 
and  I  have  entirely  forgiven  you  for  pulling  my 
hair." 

Half  recognition  and  something  more  sprang 
into  Waldemar's  eyes  as  he  eagerly  watched  the 
piquant  face  of  the  maid  who,  realizing  that  his 
memory  had  failed  to  bring  definite  recollection, 
laughingly  said : 
* '  Stupid.  Perhaps  you  '11  know  me  now. ' ' 

With  this  her  hands  flew  to  her  coiled  hair  and 
with  deft  fingers  she  loosed  the  braid  until  it  hung 
down  her  back,  and  then  Waldemar  quickly 
grasped  both  her  hands,  exclaiming: 

"Why,  Zora  Wells,  you  little  witch,  who  would 
have  expected  you  to  grow  up  in  the  three  years 
since  I  saw  you  last  I ' ' 

Half  bending  to  steal  a  kiss  from  the  lips  of 
the  girl  whom  he  was  wont  to  tease  in  like  manner 
when  he  was  a  self-important  College  student  and 
she  only  a  playmate  of  a  younger  sister  of  his,  he 
stopped  quickly,  as  a  sudden  throbbing  of  his 
pulse  telegraphed  to  his  brain  the  knowledge  that 
Zora  was  no  longer  a  mere  child,  and  that  the  kiss 
he  wanted  was  not  the  careless  caress  of  their 
former  status. 


122  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Zora,  too,  as  if  anticipating  his  thoughts,  had 
released  her  hands  and  drawn  back  while  she  hur- 
riedly said : 

"I  can't  imagine  why  my  gasoline  gave  out. 
I  started  with  enough  to  safely  land  me  in  Salt 
Lake  City,  but  it  has  mysteriously  disappeared. 
It  gives  me  chills  to  think  of  what  would  have 
happened  to  me  if  you  hadn't  discovered  my  mis- 
fortune. Dragging  myself  on  foot  in  the  cool  of 
the  night  miles  and  miles  across  the  treacherous 
desert  was  not  a  cheerful  prospect  to  say  the 
least." 

Waldemar  carefully  examined  the  tanks  of  the 
air  craft  and  suddenly  stooped  to  inspect  a  sus- 
picious looking  spot  on  one  of  them.  His  face 
turned  grave  as  he  found  a  like  spot  on  the  other 
tank.  Whipping  a  magnifying  glass  from  a  pocket 
he  examined  these  places  more  minutely  and  then, 
after  rubbing  a  finger  over  the  area  which  had 
attracted  his  attention,  he  said : 

"Zora,  who  had  access  to  your  machine  before 
you  started?" 

His  companion  answered : 

"Why,  no  one  except  the  grocer's  boy,  who 
filled  the  tanks,  and  Moroni  Clawson,  who  kindly 
cleaned  and  oiled  the  machine  for  me. ' ' 

Without  revealing  to  the  girl  the  result  of  his 
observations,  Waldemar  remarked : 

' '  There  is  a  leak  in  each  tank,  but  I  am  sure  I 
can  plug  them  up  tomorrow  with  materials  I  have 
at  the  mine,  but,  in  the  meantime,  night  will  come 
on  and  you  will  be  obliged  to  come  with  me  to 
Copper  Hill.  Mrs.  Verdant,  the  charming  wife  of 
one  of  my  associates,  is  at  the  mine  and  will  see 


ROMANCE  OF  SECOND  DEGREE    123 

that  you  are  properly  cared  for.  I  eat  with  the 
miners.  We  will  telephone  your  folks  that  yon 
are  safe." 

Leaving  the  aeroplane  on  its  alkali  bed,  the 
* '  Sahara  Plane, ' '  with  much  slower  pace,  in  steady 
progress,  retraced  its  trail  across  the  barren 
waste. 

When  they  were  landed  at  Copper  Hill,  Walde- 
mar  chanced  to  glance  across  the  intervening  dis- 
tance towards  the  far-away  aeroplane. 

He  was  not  surprised  to  note  a  much  larger  air 
craft  winging  its  flight  in  that  direction,  as  the 
great  East  and  West  Air  Lane  had  its  course  over 
this  route. 

As  it  neared  the  spot  on  the  desert  it  circled 
down  and  dropped  to  earth  alongside  Zora's  silent 
machine. 

Waldemar  watched  with  interest  as  he  saw  an 
aviator  descend  from  the  larger  craft,  and  it 
seemed  to  the  watcher  that  the  new  comer  on  the 
scene  exhibited  agitation  as  he  hurriedly  strode 
around  the  pretty  aeroplane  which  Zora  had  left 
tenantless. 

Waldemar  at  once  surmised  that  it  was  some 
one  who  recognized  Zora's  machine,  and  was  at  a 
loss  to  account  for  her  disappearance. 

Still  watching,  he  saw  the  aviator  scrutinize 
the  desert  around  the  two  airships  and  even  walk  a 
little  way  along  the  trail  the  " Sahara  Plane"  had 
made.  Then,  mounting  his  own  machine,  the  bird- 
man  quickly  rose  to  a  considerable  height  and 
directed  the  prow  straight  along  the  trail  of 
Waldemar 's  return  journey. 


124  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

In  powerful  flight,  ere  long  the  craft  hovered 
over  Copper  Hill  and  soon  landed  close  to  where 
Waldemar  stood. 

The  aviator,  advancing  towards  the  young  en- 
gineer, removed  his  face  mask  and  saluted  Walde- 
mar heartily,  being  recognized  by  the  latter  as 
Moroni  Clawson,  an  acquaintance  of  years. 

Immediately  after  exchanging  greetings,  Claw- 
son  said : 

"Is  Zora  Wells  here?  I  recognized  her  aero- 
plane lying  deserted  on  the  desert  and  could  not 
go  on  without  finding  out  whether  she  is  here  and 
is  all  right.  I  saw  queer-looking  tracks  trending 
this  way  and,  while  she  may  have  been  taken 
aboard  by  some  other  aviator  I  surmised  she  was 
brought  here  and  am  anxious  to  know  that  no 
harm  has  come  to  her.  I  did  not  wait  to  examine 
her  airship  to  see  what  the  trouble  is." 

Waldemar  caught  a  tone  of  more  than  friend- 
liness in  the  young  man's  voice  when  he  spoke  of 
Zora  and,  dimly  aware  of  a  new  sensation  which 
approached  resentment,  the  former  replied : 

"Yes — she  is  safe  here  with  Mrs.  Verdant. 
Her  gasoline  gave  out,  apparently  because  of 
some  leaks,  and  I  brought  her  here  in  my  new 
craft  for  navigating  the  desert." 

Just  then  Zora  appeared  on  the  scene  and,  with 
an  air  of  much  surprise,  greeted  Moroni  with 
frank  cordiality. 

Being  instantly  called  to  some  duty  in  respect 
to  the  mine,  Waldemar  excused  himself  for  a  while 
and  upon  his  return  found  that  Clawson  and  Zora 
had  gone  to  the  foot  of  the  flag-pole  on  the  summit 


ROMANCE  OF  SECOND  DEGREE    125 

of  the  hill  and  were  earnestly  talking,  as  they 
gazed  out  over  the  desert. 

In  suddenly-developed  diffidence,  Waldemar 
concluded  not  to  join  them,  but  assiduously  set 
himself  at  work  to  examine  the  airship  in  which 
the  aviator  had  come  to  the  hill. 

With  experienced  eyes,  he  took  in  every  feature 
of  the  staunch  craft,  swiftly  realizing  that  not 
only  was  it  powerful  enough  to  transport  two  per- 
sons easily,  but  that  it  was  equipped  completely 
for  such  a  purpose. 

More  minutely  examining  the  equipment  of  the 
machine,  he  came  to  the  tool  chest,  the  hasp  of 
which  readily  yielded. 

When  he  opened  the  lid,  glancing  over  the  con- 
tents, he  gave  a  quick  start  as  he  saw  a  slender 
steel  drill  fixed  in  the  socket  of  a  hand  drill-press, 
as  if  it  had  been  in  recent  use. 

His  mind  flew  to  the  minute  steel  drillings  he 
had  noted  around  the  holes  in  the  tanks  of  the  now 
deserted  machine  far  out  in  the  desert. 

The  circumstantial  evidence  was  complete  that 
for  some  reason  Moroni  Clawson  had  wished  the 
machine  of  Zora  Wells  to  meet  with  disablement 
on  the  trip  to  Salt  Lake  City. 

It  was  true  that  the  little  safety  aeroplane  had 
been  in  no  danger  of  capsizing  in  its  forced  de- 
scent to  the  surface  of  the  desert,  for  long  ago 
the  genius  of  American  mechanics,  had  insured 
against  such  an  accident,  so  Waldemar  was  puz- 
zled until  he  realized  how  beautifully  the  plot  had 
been  staged  for  a  rescue  and  how  his  own  unfore- 
seen advent  had  marred  the  drama. 


126  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

He  smiled  grimly,  as  he  glanced  up  the  slope 
and  noted  the  heads  of  the  would-be  hero  and  the 
maiden  he  had  planned  to  rescue  in  close  prox- 
imity. 

Waldemar  was  honest  enough  to  credit  Moroni 
Clawson  with  no  sinister  design  in  plotting  the 
disaster  to  the  machine  of  the  girl,  but  he  won- 
dered if  Zora  had  known  what  he  did  about  the 
holes  in  the  tanks  of  her  air  craft  whether  she 
would  have  been  quite  so  chummy  with  her  com- 
panion on  the  hill  top. 

At  the  same  time  he  quickly  determined  that 
he  would  never  reveal  to  the  girl  the  discovery  he 
had  made. 

He  didn't  realize  just  what  induced  his  deter- 
mination, but  as  he  watched  the  couple  come  down 
the  trail,  the  free  grace  of  the  maid's  bearing,  and 
the  piquant  poise  of  her  head  made  strong  appeal 
to  the  watcher. 

Zora  greeted  him  gayly. 

"Waldemar,  you  are  going  to  lose  your  guest. 
I  am  anxious  to  be  in  the  city  tomorrow  morning 
to  say  good-bye  to  a  chum,  who  is  leaving  for  the 
Coast,  and  Moroni  has  promised  to  take  me  in  his 
machine.  He  will  come  out  tomorrow  with  a  me- 
chanic who  will  fix  my  machine  and  bring  it  into 
the  city." 

At  first  Waldemar  had  listened  with  an  odd 
sense  of  futility,  but  his  usual  resourcefulness 
came  to  his  aid,  and,  with  tones  of  quick  deter- 
mination, he  said : 

"I  have  a  better  plan  than  that.  Go  into  the 
city,  as  you  have  planned,  and  1 1 will  repair  your 
machine  tomorrow  and  bring  it  into  the  city  to- 


ROMANCE  OF  SECOND  DEGREE    127 

wards  evening  and  will  call  on  you,  if  it  is  agree- 
able. My  machine  will  be  brought  back  to  Copper 
Hill  by  my  assistant,  who  has  helped  me  test  it." 

Zora  seemed  pleased  with  the  plan  and  replied : 

' '  That 's  fine — you  will  be  as  welcome  as  a  long- 
lost  brother." 

But  Moroni  Clawson  did  not  seem  quite  as  sat- 
isfied as  he  had  appeared  before  the  new  plan 
had  been  broached. 

Neither  did  he  bear  the  air  of  a  victor  during 
the  next  few  months,  as  he  realized  that  Waldemar 
was  quite  as  frequent  a  visitor  at  the  home  of  Zora 
Wells  as  he  was. 

Neither  he  nor  Waldemar  could  say  that  the 
" little  witch,"  as  Waldemar  still  called  her  in  his 
secret  heart,  had  specially  favored  one  or  the 
other.  She  seemed  to  enjoy  entirely  the  presence 
of  either  or  of  both,  as  frequently  happened.  She 
played  beautifully  the  world-old  three-handed 
game  of  "Rivals,"  with  the  ultimate  result  de- 
lightfully uncertain  as  far  as  any  showing  of  her 
"heart  suit"  was  concerned. 

Of  course  she  discussed  religion  with  Walde- 
mar. 

Any  young  couple  amongst  the  Mormons  who 
did  not  discuss  religion  during  the  past  four 
decades  would  be  oddities,  and  having  learned  that 
Waldemar  had  apostatized,  Zora  seemed  eager  to 
learn  why. 

She  belonged  to  one  branch  of  a  "Royal  Fam- 
ily" which  had  remained  orthodox,  but  some  of 
her  cousins  had  wholly  abandoned  the  Mormon 
faith.  Waldemar  sought  to  convince  her  that 
truth  did  not  prevail  in  the  faith  their  ancestors 


128  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

had  adhered  to,  and  finally  persuaded  her  to  look 
into  the  teachings  of  the  Society  of  Progress, 
whose  objects  he  outlined. 

It  happened  that  Zora,  through  other  influ- 
ences, had  been  wavering  in  her  allegiance  to  the 
Mormon  Church,  and  she  finally  asked  to  take  the 
First  Degree. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  SECOND  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF  THE  STARS. 

FOUR  degrees  constituted  the  Chambers  of 
Origins,  the  instruction  in  which  was  called 
by  Darwin  Snowson  "The  New  Genesis." 

It  was  the  intent  of  The  Beloved  Philosopher 
to  make  these  four  degrees  cover  broadly  all  that 
God  had  revealed  (through  His  perpetual  monu- 
ments disclosed  by  Science)  of  the  origin  of  the 
Cosmos,  the  separate  origin  of  our  earth,  includ- 
ing the  making  of  the  earth  as  it  now  is,  the  origin 
and  early  progress  of  life  on  the  earth  before  man 
evolved,  and,  lastly,  the  origin  and  prehistoric  his- 
tory of  man  himself. 

When  Zora  Wells  had  taken  the  First  Degree 
and  willingly  consented  to  go  on  in  search  of  All 
Truth,  one  starlit  evening  she  entered  the  door  of 
the  Chamber  of  the  Stars,  accompanied  by  Mollie 
Richards,  who  had  become  a  guide  of  the  Society. 

Naomi  Snowson  had  gone  back  to  Capitolton 
after  assisting  in  the  guidance  of  those  of  her  sex 
who  in  the  early  days  of  the  Society  took  the 
Seven  Degrees,  and  after  being  supremely  satis- 
fied that  at  last  her  long-cherished  hopes  were 
being  worthily  fulfilled. 

Zora  and  Mollie  were  waiting  in  the  little  re- 
ception hall,  which  connects  with  the  Chamber  of 
the  Stars,  when  Waldemar  Grant  stepped  through 
the  curtains  which  separated  the  rooms. 

129 


130 

He  had  not  known  that  Zora  was  to  take  the 
Second  Degree  that  night,  and  it  was  with  sur- 
prised delight  that  he  welcomed  her. 

He  at  once  requested  that  he,  too,  might  ac- 
company Zora  as  she  received  the  wonderful  in- 
struction within  the  chamber  she  was  about  to 
enter,  and  both  Zora  and  Mollie  assented  with 
cordiality. 

Then  the  curtains  were  drawn  and  the  trio 
entered  the  second  of  the  Seven  Degree  Chambers 
of  the  Society. 

Nephi  Woodruff,  the  astronomer  of  the  Seven, 
delivered  the  instruction  of  the  Degree  and  ex- 
plained the  wonderful  illustrative  mechanisms 
and  exhibits  which  made  proof  of  the  scientific 
facts  which  were  taught. 

First  led  to  a  beautiful  alcove,  which,  at  the 
time,  was  the  only  lighted  part  of  the  large  Cham- 
ber, Zora  beheld  a  series  of  panels  which  were 
adorned  with  lovely  soft-toned  artistic  borders, 
but  each  of  which  contained  only  a  plainly-printed 
message  to  the  initiate. 

So  vital  are  some  of  these  to  the  whole  fabric 
of  the  ritual  of  the  Society,  we  must  give  space 
so  that  none  may  miss  their  import. 

That  the  Society  of  Progress  was  intended 
eventually  to  cover  a  far  greater  field  than  the 
destruction  of  the  Mormon  Keligion,  and  that  the 
truths  it  taught  necessarily  denied  verity  to  other 
creeds  and  to  the  cherished  beliefs  of  other  relig- 
ionists, became  fully  apparent  in  this  Degree. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  Mormons  claim 
to  be  the  best  of  Christians  and  find  foundation 


CHAMBER  OF  THE  STABS          131 

for  most  of  their  strange  beliefs  in  the  text  of  the 
Jewish  Bible  and  in  the  New  Testament. 

If  verity  be  conceded  to  the  text  of  the  book  of 
the  unknown  author  or  authors  who  wrote,  com- 
piled, or  adapted  the  Genesis  of  the  Jewish  Bible, 
falsely  attributed  to  Moses,  then  indeed  who  can 
say  that  at  least  one  of  the  strange  beliefs  of  this 
" peculiar  people"  is  not  well  founded. 

They  believe  and  teach  that  God  is  literally  the 
prototype  of  man  and  has  a  "body,  parts  and  pas- 
sions," and  that  there  is  a  "Mother  in  Heaven," 
as  well  as  a  "Father  in  Heaven,"  and  that  God 
and  this  "Mother  in  Heaven"  physically  pro- 
create. 

They  say  that  as  Genesis  is  the  word  of  God, 
they  are  truer  to  His  revelations  than  other  sec- 
tarians who  believe  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible 
and  yet  deny  the  Mormon  teachings  about  God. 

They  quote  to  you  Genesis,  Chapter  1,  verse 
26:  "And  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our 
image,  after  our  likeness,"  and  verse  27,  "And 
God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image 
of  God  created  He  him. ' ' 

And  Chapter  6,  verses  1,  2  and  5,  "And  it  came 
to  pass  when  men  began  to  multiply  on  the  face 
of  the  ground  and  daughters  were  born  unto  them 
that  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men 
that  they  were  fair,  and  they  took  them  wives  of 
all  they  cJwse.  ********  ''There  were  giants 
in  the  earth  in  those  days.  And  also  after  that, 
when  the  sons  of  God  came  in  unto  the  daughters 
of  men  and  they  bare  children  to  them  and  the 


132  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

same  became  mighty  men  which  were  of  old,  men 

of  renown." 

*  #      # 

Is  their  logic  perverse  when  they  claim  that 
God  had  sons  and  that  this  necessarily  means  that 
there  is  a  " Mother  in  Heaven,"  and  that  these 
sons  were  physically  constituted,  so  that  they  sex- 
ually cohabited  with  the  daughters  of  men,  and, 
therefore,  these  sons  of  God  were  born  with  like 
''body  parts  and  passions"  as  men,  and  that  God 
Himself  is  merely  "an  exalted  man"  and  differs 
only  from  men  as  far  as  his  form  and  physical 
characteristics  are  concerned,  in  that  He  is  im- 
mortal ? 

Again,  they  quote  Genesis,  Chapter  3,  verses 
22-23 :  * « And  the  Lord  God  said,  '  Behold  the  man 
is  become  as  one  of  us  (i.  e.,  The  Gods)  to  know 
good  and  evil ;  and  now,  lest  he  put  forth  his  hand 
and  take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat  and  live 
forever."  "Therefore  the  Lord  God  sent  him 
forth  from  the  Garden  of  Eden." 

The  Mormons  also  teach  that  there  are  a  plu- 
rality of  Gods,  basing  the  claim  on  Genesis. 

*  #      * 

They  also  refer  to  Christ  as  a  "Son  of  God" 
and  quietly  assert  the  physical  cohabitation  of 
God  with  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  asserting  also  that 
he  is  often  referred  to  as  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God.  Just  how  they  reconcile  the  evidently  nu- 
merous "Sons  of  God"  spoken  of  in  Genesis  with 
the  only  Son  of  God  of  the  New  Testament,  the 
author  cannot  say. 

Of  course,  the  whole  story  of  creation  in  the 
book  of  Genesis  is  evidently  an  attempt  of  an  un- 


CHAMBER  OF  THE  STABS          133 

known  author  or  authors  to  make  an  explanation 
of  the  origin  of  the  earth  and  of  man  to  meet  the 
inquiries  of  a  very  religious  race,  which  was  seek- 
ing the  Truth  in  an  age  when  the  Truth  was 
unknowable. 

The  foregoing  explanation  leads  directly  to  the 
instruction  upon  the  first  panel  which  greeted  the 
eyes  of  Zora  Wells,  who  was  directed  by  a  hidden 
voice  to  read  each  panel  seven  times. 


I.  GOD'S  TRUTH. 

If  any  book  or  the  word  of  any  man  tells 
you  any  matter  or  any  alleged  fact  about  any- 
thing in  the  universe,  and  it  shall  so  be  that 
our  earth,  or  our  moon,  or  our  sun,  or  any 
star,  or  all  the  stars,  or  the  limitless  space  of 
the  cosmos,  or  our  atmosphere,  or  any  stone 
of  the  earth,  or  any  fossil  of  the  earth,  or  any 
natural  law,  or  all  natural  laws,  or  any  spirit- 
ual law,  or  all  spiritual  laws  contradict  the 
book  or  the  man,  then  you  must  disbelieve  the 
book  or  the  man  and  must  believe  that  which 
is  revealed  in  the  perpetual  monuments  and 
revelations  which  God  Himself  has  brought 
within  reach  of  your  consciousness  and  the 
consciousness  of  all  of  the  human  race  who 
seek  the  truth. 


134  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

And  the  second  panel  followed  the  instruction 
of  the  first,  and  read  thus : 


II.          SCIENCE  AND  GENESIS. 

In  1910  a  theological  publication  of  the 
University  of  Chicago  said  in  substance:  "If 
there  be  a  disagreement  between  Geology  and 
Genesis,  then  the  New  Christianity  will  be- 
lieve Geology  and  disbelieve  Genesis. ' ' 

Today  the  Society  of  Progress  says  there 
are  many  disagreements  between  Geology 
and  Genesis  and  also  between  Astronomy, 
Biology,  and  Anthropology  and  Genesis. 

Yea — even  more — the  truths  revealed  by 
Science  disagree  in  absolute  essentials  with 
much  that  is  told  in  the  Jewish  Bible,  and,  if 
we  are  not  slaves  in  spirit,  we  must  investi- 
gate these  disagreements  fearlessly  and  yet 
with  extreme  care,  that  we  may  be  honest  in 
our  judgments. 

We  know  God  has  not  falsified  His  uni- 
verse, nor  any  part  of  His  creation,  nor  any 
law  by  which  He  rules  the  cosmos. 

So,  whatever  the  result,  we  must  seek  His 
truth  in  all  things  where  verity  must  exist. 

The  Society  of  Progress  will  teach  the  dis- 
closures of  Science  in  all  reverence  and  in  the 
hope  that  a  New  Faith  will  come  to  each  dis- 
ciple when  the  teaching  is  finished. 


CHAMBER  OF  THE  STABS          135 

Zora  Wells  had  faintly  clung  to  a  hope  that 
through  figurative  explanations  Genesis  might  be 
reconciled  with  the  disclosures  of  Science,  and  she 
took  long  to  make  the  seven  readings  of  the  second 
panel,  but  finally  her  young  face  cleared,  and  she 
said  in  a  low,  earnest  tone  to  Mollie  and  Walde- 
mar: 

"Well,  I  am  open  to  conviction,  even  though 
I  shrink  a  little  as  my  beliefs  are  denied,"  and 
then  she  turned  to  the  third  panel  and  found  that 
her  ancestral  religion  formed  its  subject  matter. 


III.          GOD  AND  MORMONISM. 

The  Mormon  religion  teaches  degraded 
conceptions  of  God  based  greatly  on  declara- 
tions contained  in  Genesis. 

The  revelations  of  Science  deny  absolutely 
the  Mormon  concepts  of  God  and  affirm  His 
existence  as  the  only  God  and  as  the  Infinite 
First  Cause  of  all  which  exists  in  the  physical 
cosmos,  and  in  the  psychic  Cosmos  including 
the  Spiritual  life  of  human  personality  and  as 
the  Infinite  Power  which  rules  all  things  un- 
der laws  which  govern  and  affect  the  evolu- 
tion of  Matter,  Life,  Mind  and  Spirit. 

The  Mormon  doctrines  that  God  is  phy- 
sical and  is  only  one  of  many  Gods  and  that 
He  rules  only  this  Earth  are  denied  wholly  by 
the  truths  of  Science.  A  later  Degree  of  this 
Society  demonstrates  the  verity  of  these 
statements. 


136  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

When  she  had  finished  the  seven  readings  of 
this  panel,  Zora  Wells  turned  to  her  companions 
and  earnestly  said: 

"I  never  did  believe  that  God  is  physical,  nor 
do  I  believe  that  there  are  more  Gods  than  One. 
Even  if  Genesis  does  say  so,  it  can't  be  true." 

Which  showed  that  Zora  was  quite  a  heretic, 
even  if  she  was  not  aware  of  it. 

There  are  untold  numbers  who  are  likewise 
heretics,  if  they  were  brought  fairly  to  their  dis- 
beliefs in  many  things  involved  in  their  present 
faith. 

The  message  of  the  fourth  panel  next  occupied 
the  girl's  attention. 


CHAMBER  OF  THE  STARS          137 


IV.     A   DISAGREEMENT   OF   GENESIS 
WITH  GENESIS. 

Do  you  know  that  there  are  two  distinct 
accounts  of  Creation  in  Genesis,  the  first 
called  the  "Elohistic"  and  the  second  the 
"Jehovistic,"  and  that  these  two  accounts 
contradict  each  other  in  at  least  one  essential 
statement? 

The  account  of  the  third  day  of  Creation 
in  the  first  Chapter  of  Genesis  says  that  the 
waters  brought  forth  fishes,  marine  animals 
and  birds,  but  in  the  second  or  Jehovistic  ac- 
count not  only  land  animals  but  "every  fowl 
of  the  air"  is  declared  to  have  been  formed 
1 ' out  of  the  ground. ' '  (Genesis  2-19.) 

There  are  other  differences  between  the 
two  accounts  which  are  inconsistent  with  Di- 
vine Inspiration. 

GOD  DOES  NOT  CONTRADICT  HIM- 
SELF. 


138  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

When  Zora  had  given  the  requisite  readings  to 
the  fourth  panel,  Waldemar  Grant  quietly  told  her 
that  the  Encyclopedia  Brittanica,  under  the  head- 
ing of  "The  Pentateuch/'  told  the  story  of  the 
Book  of  Genesis  and  of  the  other  four  biblical 
books  attributed  to  Moses,  and  demonstrated  that 
they  could  not  be  regarded  as  divinely  inspired, 
and  that  all  untrammeled  biblical  scholars  now 
admitted  this. 

He  also  informed  her  that  in  a  later  Degree 
she  would  learn  many  reasons  for  rejecting  the 
Hebraic  conceptions  of  God  as  narrated  in  the 
Bible. 

Zora  flashed  an  interested  look  at  him  and 
softly  asked:  "Will  you  read  and  explain  the 
article  in  the  Encyclopedia  to  me  tomorrow  night 
at  my  house  ? '  ' 

Can  there  be  any  doubt  of  his  answer? 

Then  the  alert  mind  of  the  young  woman  was 
directed  to  the  fifth  panel,  which  immediately 
claimed  her  intense  interest. 

V.  SCIENCE  AND  THE  STORY  OP  ADAM 
AND  EVE. 

Among  the  infinitely  high  conceptions  of 
God,  The  Infinite  One,  which  evolutionary 
Science  has  gradually  evolved,  the  story  of 
Adam  and  Eve  and  of  God  in  His  relations 
with  them  as  told  in  Genesis,  meets  pitying 
disbelief. 


CHAMBER  OF  THE  STARS          139 


Great  pity  is  extended  to  those,  who, 
through  loyalty  to  traditional  religion,  cling 
to  this  story  either  as  literally  inspired  or  as 
figuratively  true. 

THE  TIME  HAS  COME  FOR  THE 
CASTING  AWAY  OF  BELIEFS  RESPECT- 
ING GOD  WHICH  NECESSARILY  DE- 
GRADE HIM. 

$£  H*  $t 

Genesis  tells  that  God  condemned  Adam 
and  Eve  and  through  them  the  race  of  man- 
kind for  an  act  committed  before  they  had 
become  morally  responsible. 

It  was  only  by  eating  of  the  apple  from 
the  tree  "in  the  midst  of  the  garden"  that 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil  came  to  Adam 

and  Eve,  according  to  the  legend. 

*      *      * 

It  is  impossible  that  God  "cursed  the 
ground"  and  condemned  Adam  and  Eve  in 
sorrow  to  eat  of  it  all  the  days  of  their  lives 
for  an  act  which  was  like  the  act  of  a  little 
innocent  child. 

Besides,  the  greater  truth  of  the  physical 
descent  of  the  race  of  man  as  revealed  in 
God's  own  monuments  entirely  negatives  the 
impossible  fairy  tale  told  in  Genesis. 


140  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

The  next  panel  evidently  was  designed  to  lead 
the  thoughts  of  the  initiate  directly  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  Chamber  of  the  Stars. 


VI.      GENESIS  AND  ASTRONOMY. 

The  Book  of  Genesis,  as  an  Hebraic  leg- 
end, adopts  as  part  of  the  story  of  Creation 
the  astronomy  of  antecedent  and  similar 
Chaldean  legends  of  Creation,  "for  in  both 
there  is  placed  over  the  whole  creation  a  solid 
firmament;  in  both  light  is  created  first  and 
the  heavenly  bodies  are  afterwards  placed 
'for  signs  and  for  seasons.'  " 

Astronomy,  as  a  Scientific  demonstration 
of  "the  established  order  of  the  Universe," 
denies  wholly  the  verity  of  most  of  the  Chal- 
dean astronomical  conceptions  and  therefore 
of  the  ignorant  conceptions  set  forth  in  the 
Hebraic  Genesis. 

And  so  also  Science  has  demonstrated  the 
falsity  of  the  astronomical  teachings  of  the 
Egyptians,  the  Grecians  and  the  Romans  and 
the  Jews,  although  some  of  them  garnered  re- 
markable knowledge  of  many  astronomical 
facts. 


a  mm  urn*  a  mm  ii 


Zora  noted  that  but  one  panel  remained,  and, 
with  eagerness  not  entirely  free  from  curiosity, 
she  turned  and  read  it. 


CHAMBER  OF  THE  STARS          141 


»• 

VII.  DO  YOU  STILL  WISH  TO  SEEK  ] 
THE  TRUTH? 

The  Society  of  Progress  deemed  it  best  to 
prepare  each  disciple  for  the  scope  and  im- 
port of  the  subsequent  degrees  by  the  instruc- 
tion contained  on  the  panels  of  these  walls,  so 
that  not  only  will  a  comprehension  of  the 
broad  statements  be  ever  present  in  memory  j 
throughout  the  whole  teachings  of  the  So- 
ciety, but  also,  and  far  more  important  to 
you,  if  you  find  aught  in  these  statements 
which  convinces  you  that  you  do  not  wish  to 
study  the  things  which  bring  verity  to  these 
statements,  then  you  may  still  inform  your 
guide  that  you  do  not  wish  to  go  on  with  the 
instruction. 

The  Society  wishes  each  disciple  to  now 
act  as  his  or  her  conscience  dictates. 

Tell  your  guide  whether  you  wish  to  go  on 
or  whether  you  wish  to  withdraw. 

Take  all  the  time  for  reflection  you  desire. 

If  you  go  on,  honesty  of  purpose  and  fidel- 
ity to  your  own  soul  is  all  that  is  required  of 
you. 


Zora  Wells  had  lingered  over  this  panel  with  a 
reflective  backward  glance  at  those  which  pre- 
ceded it,  when  finally  she  said: 

"The  messages  on  these  panels  are  so  vital  I 
do  not  wish  to  decide  hastily,  but  I  want  the  truth 
and  my  conscience  would  never  be  satisfied  if  I 
failed  to  go  on. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  SECOND  DEGREE  CONTINUED. 

AGAIN  the  reader  of  this  tale  is  warned  that 
to  go  on  with  the  story  of  the  Degrees  may 
mean  spiritual  unrest,  and  the  destruction 
of  long-cherished  beliefs. 

The  author  has  gone  the  journey  from  an  in- 
herited faith  to  the  new  Faith  and  knows  that 
there  may  be  soul  travail  in  the  search  for  the 
Truth. 

Stepping  out  of  the  alcove  of  the  Seven  Panels, 
Waldemar  Grant,  Mollie  Eichards  and  Zora  Wells 
stood  for  a  moment  before  a  screen  which  shut  off 
the  rotunda  of  the  Chamber  of  the  Stars,  when 
suddenly  a  wonder  arose. 

As  the  screen  was  removed,  to  the  surprised 
eyes  of  each  new  initiate  there  appeared  the  heav- 
ens as  they  are  seen  on  a  starry  night,  and  with 
the  deep  blue  of  the  sky  and  the  sparkling  stars, 
it  seemed  as  though  one  had  been  placed  on  a  high 
mountain  to  view  the  wonders  of  the  night;  the 
illusion  was  complete. 

Then  came  the  voice  of  Nephi  Woodruff,  sol- 
emn, impressive  and  searching : 

"The  Society  of  Progress  asserts  certain  ele- 
mental facts  and  deductions  which  Science,  includ- 
ing Scientific  Philosophy,  accepts  as  the  Truth. 

"It  is  essential  that  all  who  seek  the  Truth 
shall  know  these  facts  and  deductions  and  the 

142 


founder   of   our   Society  has   formulated  them 
briefly  for  us. 

"Here  at  the  commencement  of  your  instruc- 
tion, we  must  free  your  minds  of  the  shackles  of 
the  legends  of  the  Creation  of  the  universe  which 
the  Jews  adopted  from  the  Chaldeans.  Listen  to 

the  words  of  our  Beloved  Philosopher. 

#  *       # 

"Would  you  know  what  Science  can  truthfully 
assert  of  the  beginning  of  all  things  1 

1 '  These  conclusions  seem  now  to  be  finitely  cer- 
tain: 

' '  First :  That  no  human  being  ever  has  known, 
no  human  being  now  knows,  and  no  human  being 
within  the  earthly  embodiment  ever  will  know  how 
and  when  and  where  the  Cosmos — the  universe — 
had  its  origin. 

"Science  finds  matter  apparently  indestructi- 
ble. Every  physical  change,  whether  by  growth 
or  flame,  or  decay  or  any  of  the  myriad  of  chem- 
ical reactions,  finds  always  new  forms  or  resolu- 
tion into  elements,  but  never  the  annihilation  of 
any  atom  or  ion. 

' '  This  would  lead  logically  to  a  conclusion  that 
matter  always  was  and  always  will  be;  but  here 
lies  a  mystery,  solvable  by  rationality  only,  in  a 
backward  journey  of  cause  and  effect  to  the  'In- 
finite First  Cause,'  which  is  neither  matter  nor 

any  attribute  of  matter. 

*  *       * 

"Second:  Science  finds  the  Cosmos  and 
everything  physical  within  its  limitless  realms 
proceeding  or  unfolding  in  enduring  'Courses  of 
Evolution, '  which  evidence  one  immeasurably  vast 


144  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

'Process,'  which  Science  calls  'The  Cosmic  Proc- 
ess,' and  this  'Process'  appears  to  have  'endured 
through  boundless  time.' 

"But  here,  too,  lies  another  mystery.    Force 

seems  eternal. 

*  *       * 

"Third:  Science  does  not  pretend  to  have 
solved  the  great  mysteries  which  seem  inherent 
in  the  finite  contemplation  of  the  origin  of  things. 

"Rationality  makes  certain  demands  which 
our  race  must  heed  or  spiritually  perish;  but  ra- 
tionality in  seeking  the  explanation  of  all  that  has 
been  and  is  and  ivill  be  at  last  finds  the  ultimate 
truth  shrouded  behind  impenetrable  barriers. 

"Let  us  consider  another  of  the  primal  limita- 
tions of  human  rationality. 

"The  finite  concept  of  Time,  whether  the 
search  be  backward  or  forward,  finds  rationality 
seeking  in  vain  for  a  resting  place,  and  confesses 
at  last  that  only  the  Infinite  can  be  beyond  the  bar- 
rier and  explain  the  mystery ;  and  the  finite  rever- 
entially acknowledges  that  its  endowments  from 
the  Infinite  neither  permit  it  to  say  that  there  was 
a  time  when  no  time  was,  nor  that  there  will  be  a 
time  when  no  time  will  be;  and  yet  the  finite  may 
rationally  believe  that  to  the  Infinite  One  all  time 

is  an  '  Everlasting  Now. ' 

*  *       * 

"Fourth:  So,  also,  finite  rationality  finds  a 
barrier  of  mystery  enwrapping  its  concept  of 
Space. 

Reaching  out  far  beyond  the  realm  of  unaided 
human  vision,  through  the  most  powerful  tele- 
scopes, Science  discloses  infinite  abysses  of  space 


SECOND  DEGREE  CONTINUED   145 

populated  with  solar  systems  innumerable  and 
wholly  baffling  human  conception  of  their  magni- 
tude and  multitude  and  unutterably  vast  dis- 
tances. 

So,  also,-  aside  from  the  apparently  actual  lim- 
itless area  of  the  Cosmos,  human  philosophy 
stands  permanently  checked,  mentally,  in  any  at- 
tempt to  pass  this  barrier  which  the  Infinite  has 
imposed  upon  it,  for  it  cannot  conceive  that  there 
is  no  limit  to  space,  neither  can  it  rationally  con- 
ceive that  there  is  a  limit  to  space." 

*  *      * 

"Fifth:  Yet  the  finite  may,  in  strict  ration- 
ality, conceive  that  the  Infinite  One  has  been  al- 
ivays,  is  now  and  ever  will  be  immanent  in  all  the 
Cosmos  and  in  the  evolution  of  all  life,  physical, 
psychic  and  spiritual,  working  out  His  purposes 

through  the  courses  of  all  evolution. 

*  *      * 

''In  a  wonderful  effort  of  pure  rationality, 
Herbert  Spencer  established  that  the  finite  mind 
must  find  back  of  all  that  exists  'An  Infinite  and 
Eternal  Energy  from  which  all  things  proceed,' 
and  the  Society  of  Progress  predicates  as  scien- 
tific and  wholly  rational  that  ALL  COSMIC  EVO- 
LUTION UNDER  THE  SWAY  OF  GREAT 
LAWS  CONSTITUTES  THE  CARRYING  OUT 
OF  THE  PURPOSES  OF  THE  INFINITE 

ONE,  WHOM  WE  CALL  GOD." 

*  *      # 

"But,  while  the  mysteries  of  which  we  have 
spoken  and  other  fundamental  mysteries  limit  the 
finite  vision,  yet  there  is  a  vast  field  of  Truth  in 
which  Science  garners  knowledge  of  the  Cosmos, 


146  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

and  in  this  Chamber  of  the  Stars  yon  are  asked  to 
consider  the  physical  universe  as  it  actually  is 
and  not  as  narrated  in  the  false  astronomy  of  the 
Jewish  Scriptures." 


"Behold  first  our  own  Solar  System." 
Then  visions  of  the  wonders  of  the  heavens  in 
miniature  were  unfolded  before  the  eyes  of  the 
class  of  disciples. 

It  was  the  custom  to  deliver  the  general  in- 
struction of  each  degree  to  quite  a  number  of  ini- 
tiates at  a  time,  and  Zora  Wells  had  joined  such  a 
group,  after  her  little  journey  through  the  Alcove 
of  the  Seven  Panels,  and  Waldemar  Grant  seated 
himself  beside  her. 

Each  of  this  group  now  found  herself  or  him- 
self seated  in  such  a  way  that  it  seemed  as  though 
some  point  of  observation  had  been  attained  which 
was  neither  on  our  earth,  nor  upon  our  sun,  nor 
upon  any  planet,  but  at  a  vantage  where  our  whole 
solar  system  could  be  observed  in  its  entirety. 

The  sun,  monarch  of  the  system,  in  regnant 
splendor,  dimmed  only  to  a  degree  sufficient  to 
perrnit  of  clear  observation,  appeared  in  its  true 
position  at  the  center  of  the  scene,  and  in  its  true 
proportion,  more  than  one  million  three  hundred 
thousand  times  the  volume  of  the  earth  and  almost 
twelve  thousand  times  the  surface  area  of  the 
earth,  and  with  a  weight  of  about  seven  hundred 
times  that  of  all  the  planets  put  together. 

A  marvelous  sphere  it  appeared  as  it  is,  a  great 
Cosmic  unit  related  to  the  millions  of  like  suns  in 
the  universe. 


SECOND  DEGREE  CONTINUED   147 

The  planets  shining  in  the  beautiful  silvery 
array  of  reflected  light,  and  stationary  at  first, 
appeared  in  scattered  orbital  positions,  captive  to 
the  gravitational  force  of  the  sun. 

Our  earth  looked  quite  insignificant  in  contrast 
with  the  imperial  magnificence  of  the  sun  and  the 
queenly  glory  of  the  planets,  Jupiter  and  Saturn, 
the  former  planet  being  eleven  times  the  diameter 
of  the  earth,  and  the  latter  more  than  nine  times, 
even  though  our  earth  showed  a  solar  satellite 
rank  materially  greater  than  Mercury  and  Mars 
and  slightly  greater  than  Venus,  but  far  inferior 
also  to  Uranus  and  Neptune. 

*  *      * 

The  instruction  respecting  the  solar  system 
was  lucid  and  condensed  and  told  of  the  relations 
of  the  planets  to  the  sun,  their  " years"  of  revolu- 
tion in  elliptical  orbits  around  the  sun,  varying 
from  the  365  days  of  our  earth  to  the  88  of  our 
days  making  the  short  "year"  of  Mercury,  and  to 
the  164  of  our  years  which  are  required  for  Nep- 
tune to  make  one  complete  revolution  around  the 
sun,  Mercury  being  approximately  thirty-six  mil- 
lions of  miles  from  the  sun,  our  earth  ninety-three 
million  miles,  and  Neptune  the  enormous  distance 
of  two  billions  seven  hundred  and  ninety-two  mil- 
lions of  miles  away  from  the  great  central  star  of 

our  solar  system. 

•  *      * 

It  was  not  to  teach  thoroughly  Astronomy  or 
Physics  that  the  Degrees  of  the  "New  Genesis" 
were  included  amongst  the  degrees  of  the  Society, 
but  so  that  the  initiate  should  comprehend  the 


148  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

revelations  of  the  physical  Universe  which  Science 
had  spelled  out  in  its  search  for  the  Truth  and 
give  weight  in  the  final  Degrees  to  the  import  of 
all  the  Truth. 

And  when  the  invisible  machinery  was  set  in 
motion  and  showed  the  revolutions  of  the  sun  and 
each  of  the  planets  on  its  axis  and  the  orbital  revo- 
lutions of  each  planet  around  the  sun,  the  sight 
was  one  of  such  inspiration  and  beauty  as  to  cause 
irrestrainable  exclamations  of  delight  from  the 
observers. 

It  was  like  seeing  a  part  of  God's  infinite  space 
brilliant  with  wonderful  orbs,  which  seemed  al- 
most resonant  with  the  music  of  the  spheres. 

Then  almost  into  insignificance  sank  our  great 
sun  and  its  satellites. 

By  something  like  legerdemain,  the  whole  of 
our  solar  system  seemed  to  recede  into  space  and 
the  starry  vault  which  had  made  the  background 
of  the  beautiful  scene  suddenly  began  to  grow  into 
a  sight  of  such  glittering  magnificence  as  to  chal- 
lenge the  dazzled  eyes  of  the  beholders. 

Fixed  stars,  rivals  of  our  own  sun,  began  to 
grow  in  size  until  it  finally  seemed  as  though  the 
observer  was  central  in  a  realm  of  space,  where 
brilliant  suns  shone  in  glory  over  all  the  vault  of 
the  heavens,  and  yet  each  seemed  remotely  distant 

from  another. 

*       *       * 

In  calm,  clear  address,  Nephi  Woodruff  told 
the  listeners  that  the  scene  presented  to  them  was 
one  intended  to  bring  realization  of  the  innumer- 
able suns  of  the  Cosmos,  of  which  the  few  within 
the  scene  were  merely  types  of  the  five  thousand 


SECOND  DEGREE   CONTINUED      149 

suns  or  fixed  stars,  which  human  eyes  unaided  can 
see  in  the  skies  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 

That  the  nearest  of  these  suns  was  approxi- 
mately twenty-five  thousand  billions  (twenty-five 
trillions)  of  miles  from  our  earth,  and  that,  with 
the  aid  of  the  most  powerful  telescopes  and  the 
still  more  discerning  astronomical  photography, 
many  millions  of  suns  had  been  discovered  which 
populate  infinite  space  with  their  fiery  spheres, 
and  each  of  which  may  well  be  the  center  of  a  solar 
system  like  ours.  That  these  stars  are  so  far 
away  that  they  seem  permanently  " fixed"  in  the 
heavens,  while  actually  they  all  are  rushing  on 
with  unimaginable  rapidity  in  immeasurable 

cycles. 

*  *       * 

Then  he  explained  the  great  laws  which  bind 
sun  to  sun  throughout  all  space,  and  planet  to  sun, 
and  satellite  to  planet,  and  every  particle  of  mat- 
ter in  the  universe  to  every  other  particle,  and 
those  which  establish  the  physical  kinship  of  all 
the  stars  with  each  other  and  with  our  own  earth. 

Every  listener  began  to  glimpse  a  grandeur 
of  the  physical  Cosmos  which  was  inexpressible. 

*  *      * 

The  instruction  next  included  explanation  of 
the  enlarged  reproductions  of  a  number  of  astro- 
nomical photographs  of  the  moon,  of  the  sun  dur- 
ing eclipses,  and  of  several  of  the  constellations. 
It  also  displayed,  in  graphic  form,  the  revelations 
by  the  spectroscope  of  the  physical  composition  of 
our  sun  and  of  other  suns  of  the  universe. 


150  THE  HUNDBEDTH  WAVE 

Then  came  the  conclusion  of  the  general  in- 
struction of  the  Second  Degree. 

"The  infinitely  vast  Cosmos  which  you  have 
now  glimpsed  in  miniature,  establishes  certain 
sure  ultimate  truths  through  the  facts  which  Sci- 
ence has  revealed,  and,  as  these  can  be  verified  by 
every  human  being  who  will  intelligently  observe 
and  study  them,  they  must  be  accepted  by  all  who 

seek  the  truth. 

*       *       « 

"First  of  these  elemental  truths  is,  that  Sci- 
ence finds  throughout  the  physical  universe  every- 
where and  in  every  manifestation  of  force  and  in 
every  relation  of  things,  and  in  every  physical 
change  'established  order.' 

"Later  on  it  will  be  shown  that  within  the  'es- 
tablished order  of  the  universe'  lies  all  animal 
life,  including  the  physical  life  of  man. 

"As  already  shown  you,  the  physical  laws 
which  evidence  this  established  order  are  now  dis- 
covered and  comprehended  in  many  of  their  as- 
pects, and  it  will  be  well  to  remember  that  man 
has  adapted  many  of  them  to  his  use  in  his  domi- 
nance of  the  earth's  surface,  and  relies  absolutely 
on  their  potency. 

"Whether  it  be  the  burning  of  a  match  or  the 
process  which  makes  the  sun  a  fiery  cauldron,  law 
governs ;  whether  it  be  the  birth  of  a  tiny  insect  or 
the  birth  of  a  world,  law  governs ;  whether  it  be 
the  flowing  of  a  brook  or  the  combined  evolutional 
forces  which  make  up  the  'Cosmic  Process'  in  its 
entirety,  the  Laws  of  the  Universe  govern,  and 
are  always  true  to  their  nature. 


SECOND  DEGREE   CONTINUED      151 

"Second:  In  the  Universe  there  is  ceaseless 
change.  Every  sun  in  the  Cosmos  is  evolving. 

"The  credible  evidence  of  astronomical  obser- 
vations and  a  knowledge  of  the  chemical  changes 
constantly  going  on  lead  to  a  rational  conclusion 
that  suns  are  'born'  in  the  sense  of  becoming  new 
suns  through  the  same  forces  which  gave  our  sun 
a  separate  solar  existence,  and  that  suns  are  now 
'dying,'  as  suns,  through  the  gradual  cooling  of 
their  physical  constituents  or  elements. 

"So,  too,  is  every  star,  and  planet,  and  comet, 
and  moon  in  the  universe  at  some  stage  of  evolu- 
tion, and  is  continuously  progressing  towards  an 
ultimate  transformation. 

"In  a  subsequent  Degree  of  the  Society  the 
same  general  law  of  continuous  evolution  will  be 
seen  to  apply  to  our  earth  and  to  everything  con- 
nected with  it,  including  humanity. 

"The  'Cosmic  Process'  is  universal. 
"There  is  a  great  and  vital  spiritual  meaning 
involved  in  this  truth  which  will  be  brought  to 
your  attention  at  a  later  time. 

"Lastly — the  lessons  of  the  Chamber  of  the 
Stars  to  you  are  these : 

#      *      * 

"The  universe  is  infinitely  large.  Science  de- 
duces from  a  myriad  of  facts,  including  the  evi- 
dences of  the  age  of  our  own  earth,  that  the  phys- 
ical universe  'has  endured  through  boundless 
time/  and  yet  human  rationality  is  compelled  to 
assert,  as  a  conclusion,  or  otherwise,  to  stultify 
itself,  that  'there  is  an  Infinite  and  Eternal  En- 
ergy from  which  all  things  proceed.' 


152  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

"The  Society  of  Progress  asserts  to  you  that 
that  it  will  demonstrate  that  this  'Powef'  is  God 
and  that  He  is  working  through  and  in  the  Cosmic 
Process  for  your  spiritual  welfare  and  for  mine  in 
a  Divine  Plan  which  uplifts  all  humanity." 
*  #  * 

During  the  absorbing  instruction,  Zora  "Wells 
had  unconsciously  leaned  against  Waldemar 
Grant  in  a  manner  which  revealed  both  supreme 
confidence  and  actual  affection,  and  it  was  with 
apparent  confusion  she  found  herself  clasping  his 
hand  when  the  final  words  of  instruction  had  been 
spoken. 

That  Waldemar  was  not  confused,  but  keenly 
alert  to  the  situation,  did  not  prevent  him  from 
hurriedly  shaking  hands  with  Zora,  to  relieve  her 
embarrassment,  and  asking  her  if  she  liked  the 
Second  Degree. 

' '  Oh !  It  was  wonderful,  and  I  feel  very  insig- 
nificant. I'm  obsessed  to  learn  more  of  the  Truth. 
How  few  of  the  mass  of  the  people  ever  have  a 
chance  to  learn  as  much  as  we  have  tonight. 
Surely  the  Society  will  carry  its  organization  all 
over  the  world  as  soon  as  possible." 

The  next  night  Waldemar  Grant  read  and  ex- 
plained to  Zora  Wells  the  article  in  the  Encyclo- 
pedia Brittanica  upon  "The  Pentateuch,"  which 
demonstrated  beyond  peradventure  that  "Gene- 
sis" and  the  next  four  books  of  the  Jewish  Bible 
are  a  "hotch  potch"  of  collated  legends,  com- 
mingled with  some  actual  history  and  laws  of  the 
Jewish  tribes  gathered  from  at  least  three  widely 


SECOND  DEGREE  CONTINUED   153 

separated  periods  of  Jewish  history,  one  of  which 
is  many  hundreds  of  years  after  the  time  repre- 
sented in  the  books  themselves. 

Waldemar  called  Zora's  attention  to  the  fact 
that,  while  the  accepted  versions  of  the  Bible 
ascribed  these  books  to  Moses,  the  claim  was  false, 
as  one  of  the  books  records  the  death  of  Moses, 
but  also  explained  that  there  were  a  myriad  of 
reasons  to  reject  any  claim  that  the  books  were 
divinely  inspired,  some  of  which  would  be  made 
very  clear  in  later  Degrees  of  the  Society. 

It  was  Zora  who  suggested  that  she  would  like 
to  go  out  into  the  starry  night  and  talk  over  the 
Second  Degree,  but,  strangely  enough,  when  they 
were  alone  under  the  stars  this  was  the  question 
she  asked: 

"Waldemar,  why  didn't  you  tell  me  that 
Moroni  Clawson  bored  the  holes  in  the  gasoline 
tanks  of  my  aeroplane?" 

The  witchery  of  the  starlight  with  Zora's  cling- 
ing arms  had  already  set  Waldemar 's  blood  on  fire 
and  this  question  brought  sudden  resolve  to  risk 
his  fate. 

4 'Zora,  'little  witch,'  as  I  have  called  you  in  my 
heart  ever  since  that  day  on  the  desert,  I  won't 
answer  your  question  just  yet.  Look  at  me,  you 
sweet  darling.  My  heart  is  overflowing  with  love 
for  you,  and  I  want  you.  Say  that  you  will  be 
mine,  'little  witch.'  " 

The  stars  surely  twinkled  more  brightly,  and, 
if  their  light  saw  two  lovers  pledging  in  true  lov- 
ers'  way  the  mutual  devotion  of  a  lifetime,  it  must 
have  been  an  old,  old  story  to  the  stars. 


154  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

It  wouldn't  be  fair  to  state  just  when  Zora 
recalled  the  question  she  had  asked  Waldemar, 
but  whenever  it  was,  this  was  the  answer : 

"I  determined  that  I  would  win  you  if  I  could 
in  a  fair  fight  against  Moroni,  and  I  was  sure  that 
he  only  did  it  to  become  a  'rescuer'  and  help  his 
suit.  But  I'd  like  to  know  how  you  found  it  out." 

If  his  sweet  little  witch  threw  her  arms  around 
him  and  held  her  face  close  to  his  when  she  an- 
swered, I'm  sure  no  sensible  reader  would  dream 
it  aught  but  the  very  most  proper  thing  to  do. 

"You  nice  big  goose.  You  men  think  that  we 
of  the  other  sex  are  as  slow  to  perceive  as  you  are. 
While  the  truth  is  that  we  watch  every  glint  of 
your  eyes  or  shade  on  your  faces.  I  knew  the 
moment  you  looked  at  the  tiny  leaks  in  the  gaso- 
line tanks  that  you  suspected  something,  and  when 
you  rubbed  your  finger  over  the  spot  I  knew  all 
about  it.  Besides,"  she  whispered,  "I  had  loved 
you  from  the  time  I  wore  short  dresses  and  you 
used  to  tease  me  with  your  kisses.  Oh,  don't 
smother  me." 

And  thus  the  Second  Degree  brought  its  own 
romance  to  the  fruition  of  happy  hearts. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  THIRD  DEGREE. 

AT  the  very  moment  the  Occident  Limited, 
the  fine  transcontinental  train,  on  the  Na- 
tional East  and  West  Railway,  was  about 
to  take  its  departure  from  Chicago  one  "Winter's 
night  in  1934,  a  young  lady,  smartly  dressed  in  a 
traveling  suit  and  followed  by  a  station  page 
bearing  her  suit  case,  ran  forward  towards  the 
nearest  vestibule  opening  and,  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, right  upon  her  heels  likewise  running,  came 
a  young  man  carrying  his  own  hand  baggage. 

The  silver-toned  electric  warning  bells  were 
ringing  within  each  vestibule  and  the  porters  had 
climbed  the  steps. 

As  he  reached  the  observation  platform  the 
young  man  threw  his  baggage  over  into  the  railed 
enclosure  and  then,  with  accelerated  steps,  ran  to 
the  opened  vestibule  at  the  other  end  of  the  car. 
Arriving  there  at  the  moment  the  young  woman 
did,  the  premonitory  thrill  of  the  starting  train 
warned  for  instant  action. 

The  colored  porter  yelled,  "  Hurry, "  and  the 
young  man  with  a  swift  " Pardon  me,"  grabbed 
the  young  woman  beneath  her  arms  and  with  sure 
strength  almost  tossed  her  into  the  outstretched 
hands  of  the  porter. 

Then  with  a  quick  stride  or  two  to  catch  up 
with  the  moving  train,  he  sprang  to  the  lowest 
step  of  the  car  and  grabbed  the  young  woman's 

155 


156  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

suit  case  from  the  page,  who,  with  anxious  face, 
was  running  alongside. 

A  hastily  flung  and  more  than  generous  quarter 
deftly  caught  by  the  page  changed  the  anxious 
look  of  the  boy  into  a  happy  one.  As  Darwin 
Snowson  would  have  said,  '  *  That  was  the  way  he 
made  his  living." 

Then  the  young  man  turned  and  realized  that 
a  face  that  was  hauntingly  familiar  was  smiling 
down  at  him,  and  when  he  had  mounted  the  steps 
the  young  woman  said: 

* '  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  assisting  me. 
I'm  afraid  I  might  not  have  made  it,  if  you  hadn't 
helped  me." 

With  that  she  went  forward  and  disappeared 
into  one  of  the  numerous  compartments  which 
characterized  the  train. 

Nephi  Woodruff  positively  had  stared  as  the 
charming  figure  of  the  young  woman  preceded 
him  on  his  way  to  his  own  car,  feeling  that  he 
should  know  her,  but  wholly  unable  to  identify 
her  or  to  understand  why  she  stirred  his  heart  into 
unusual  palpitation.  He  searched  his  memory 
again  and  again  and  always  with  baffled  futility. 

With  swift,  almost  birdlike  flight  the  elec- 
trically propelled  train  flashed  in  the  Winter's 
night  across  the  snow-clad  landscape  of  Illinois. 

The  hour  of  departure  having  been  11  o'clock, 
most  of  the  passengers  retired  without  delay,  but 
Nephi  Woodruff,  trying  to  solve  the  riddle  of  per- 
sonality which  perplexed  him,  had  gone  back  into 
the  observation  car  and,  in  solitary  occupancy  of 
the  rear  platform,  paced  to  and  fro,  inhaling  the 
keen  frosty  air  and  cudgeling  his  brain  for  the 


ROMANCE  OF  THIRD  DEGREE      157 

reasons  why  the  young  woman  so  appealed  to  his 
whole  being. 

As  a  student,  absorbed  deeply  in  the  wonders 
of  the  stars,  he  scarce  had  noted  that  there  were 
fair  faces  ever  flinging  forth  into  his  eyes  the 
world-old  lure  of  mating  glances  so  necessary  for 
the  preservation  and  the  progress  of  the  race. 

He  was  of  a  type  which  attracts  the  fairer  sex 
and  not  a  few  maids  had  wondered,  in  the  way  of 
maids,  whether  the  stalwart  young  astronomer 
was  invulnerable  or  whether  Cupid's  shaft  might 
not  pierce  his  armor  of  absorbed  indifference. 

In  spite  of  his  efforts  the  young  man  could  not 
find  the  clue  which  would  unravel  the  mystery  so 
suddenly  thrust  upon  him. 

To  be  so  emotionally  upset  was  new  to  him  and 
at  last,  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders,  he  betook 
himself  to  his  berth,  where  the  purring  of  the  re- 
cently installed  noiseless  car  wheels  eventually 

lulled  him  to  sleep. 

*  *      * 

The  visions  of  day  dreams  belong  to  the 
poet,  the  artist,  the  lover  and  the  genius,  though 
building  castles  in  the  air,  evidences  the  ever- 
upspringing  hopes  of  humanity. 

The  visions  of  the  night,  whilst  personality 
leaves  the  brain  cells  to  haphazard  activity,  are 
usually  mere  inconsequential  phantasies,  but 
sometimes,  the  other  self,  below  the  threshold  of 
ordinary  consciousness,  works  out  in  dreams  won- 
derful psychic  results. 

*  *       * 

The  young  man  felt  the  breath  of  the  desert 
as  the  moon  arose  and  he  became  aware  that  far 


158  THE  HUNDBEDTH  WAVE 

and  wide,  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  he  had 
toilfully  half-circled,  stretched  broad  plains  of 
Arabia. 

Messenger  of  the  Sultan  to  a  wise  man  who 
dwelt  on  the  mountain,  he  had  failed  to  reach  his 
destination  when  darkness  came  on,  and  had  lain 
down  on  the  mountain  side  almost  too  weary  to 
seek  sleep,  and  thinking  of  the  morrow. 

Springing  to  his  feet  to  view  the  fairyland 
which  the  moon,  great  artist  of  light  and  shade, 
had  created,  he  was  startled  beyond  measure  when 
he  heard  a  woman's  voice  say: 

''Stranger,  whom  do  you  seek  in  this  solitary 
place?" 

Turning  swiftly,  his  astonished  eyes  beheld  in 
the  moonlight  a  tall,  graceful  young  woman,  whose 
face  of  dark  distinctive  beauty  assumed  to  him  a 
wonderful  fascination  as  the  moon  shone  full 
upon  it. 

Clad  in  a  short,  clinging  garment,  with  a  leop- 
ard's aikin  thrown  across  her  half -naked  shoulders 
and  with  a  short  spear  in  her  hand,  she  was  a 
picture  of  the  lithe  young  huntress. 

Gazing  into  each  other's  faces,  the  young 
couple  for  an  appreciable  time  seemed  lost  to  all 
but  a  mutual  search  of  souls,  then  the  young  man, 
with  a  perceptible  start,  murmured:  "It  is  Kis- 
met," hastily  adding,  in  answer  to  the  girl's 
question: 

"I  am  Haroun  of  Bagdad,  sometimes  called 
Haroun  of  the  Stars,  and  I  seek  Ilbrahim  the 
Wise ;  but  who  are  you,  who  wraps  my  soul  in  the 
depths  of  your  eyes  f  Thou  art  the  very  dream  of 
my  heart's  desire.  I  scarce  know  whether  thou 


EOMANCE  OF  THIRD  DEGREE      159 

art  the  glorious  flesh  and  blood  thou  seem'st  or 
only  the  picture  in  my  soul  of  her  who  will  be 
mine,  though  I  search  all  Arabia  to  find  her. 
Speak  to  me  again  and  let  me  touch  thy  sweet 
hand,  if  indeed  my  dreams  have  come  true." 

In  low,  sweet  voice  came  the  reply: 

"I  am  Zara  the  Singer,  daughter  of  Ilbrahim 
the  Wise,  whom  you  seek.  A  year  ago  tonight 
there  came  to  me  in  a  vision  in  slumber,  an  angel 
of  light,  who  told  me  that  in  just  one  year  the 
moon  and  yon  bright  planet  would  be  in  conjunc- 
tion and  that  on  the  Rock  of  Desert  View,  where 
we  now  stand,  I  would  find  a  jewel  which  would 
bless  all  my  life.'' 

"Behold  the  fair  moon  and  the  dear  star  and 
thou  who  tells 't  me  of  the  fulfillment  of  my  own 
heart's  throbbing  passion." 

Filled  with  rapture,  the  young  man  held  out 
his  arms  and,  with  voice  laden  with  emotion,  said : 

'  *  Zara,  my  own  love,  come  to  me,  and  through 
this  life  and  all  other  lives  which  we  are  fated  to 
live  in  our  reincarnations,  thou  only  shall  be  the 
possessor  of  my  soul's  strong  love  and  my  heart's 
deep  devotion." 

With  shining  eyes,  the  girl  advanced;  then, 
stopping  suddenly,  she  said: 

"Listen,  Haroun,  my  beloved,  the  spell  of  sing- 
ing is  upon  me,  and  there  is  a  message  to  you  in 
my  song." 

Then,  upon  the  silent  night,  burst  forth  a  won- 
drous melody. 

It  was  the  song  of  "Love  and  the  Stars,"  and 
as  Zara  sang  it,  Nephi  Woodruff  suddenly  became 
aware  that  his  train  was  standing  still  and  that 


160  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

just  beyond  the  head  of  his  berth  someone  was 
singing  in  a  low,  sweet  voice  that  beautiful  song, 
"Love  and  the  Stars,"  which  made  a  success  of 
the  opera,  "Arabia." 

Like  a  flash,  the  young  man  knew  why  the  face 
and  form  of  the  girl  he  had  assisted  the  night  be- 
fore were  so  familiar.  It  was  the  Zara  of  the 
opera,  as  he  had  seen  and  heard  her  one  fateful 
night  in  that  most  beautiful  of  all  opera  houses  in 
the  world,  "The  Temple  of  Music"  in  Los  An- 
geles, which,  completed  in  1925,  is  now  the  mecca 
of  every  great  musical  artist  of  both  hemispheres. 

As  understudy,  the  girl  had  taken  the  role  of 
the  prima  donna  and  the  young  man  had  not 
learned  her  name,  though  he  had  been  strangely 
attracted  towards  her. 

His  dream  had  revealed  his  heart  and  Nephi 
knew  that  the  pledge  of  the  dream  to  Zara  the 
Singer  was  the  pledge  of  his  heart  to  the  living 
maiden. 

There  was  no  "Haroun  of  the  Stars"  in  the 
opera,  but  the  young  astronomer  knew  himself  as 
the  lover  of  the  Singer  of  the  Arabian  night,  for 
he  realized  that  subconsciously  his  heart  had  paid 
secret  tribute  to  the  girl  who  had  sung  the  song 
in  the  beautiful  City  of  the  Angels. 

It  is  said  that  love  at  first  sight  is  essentially 
a  masculine  trait,  and  though  the  wonder  may  find 
some  immediate  mating  response  in  the  feminine 
object,  yet  not  the  headlong  rush  of  utter  love  and 
faith  and  passion  which  the  man  gives  without 
weighing  the  consequences. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  Nephi  Woodruff  had  a  sense 
of  fate — the  Kismet  of  his  dream — when  he  was 


ushered  to  one  of  the  small  tables  in  the  diner 
and  found  opposite  him  the  singer  of  the  moun- 
tain, clad,  however,  in  more  conventional  attire 
than  the  appropriate  dream  garments  of  Arabia. 

Observing  that  the  young  woman  looked  at 
him  with  half  recognition,  he  took  the  initiative 
quickly  by  saying: 

"Good  morning.  In  the  West,  where  I  have 
lived  most  of  my  life,  it  is  considered  both  cour- 
teous and  conventional  on  transcontinental  jour- 
neys to  act  humanly  towards  fellow  travelers,  and 
without  presuming  on  any  acquaintanceship  be- 
yond the  journey,  I  hope  I  am  pardoned  for  a 
desire  to  make  your  trip  as  pleasant  as  I  can,  espe- 
cially as  you  are  evidently  alone. ' ' 

The  girl  had  watched  him  intently  as  he  spoke 
and,  after  a  little  meditative  hesitation,  she  re- 
plied: 

"I  am  familiar  with  the  Western  custom,  and 
yet  its  proper  use  must  depend  upon  the  personali- 
ties of  those  who  accept  its  informality. 

"I  am  frank  to  say  that  I  see  no  present  reason 
why  we  should  not  honor  the  custom.  Isn't  it  a 
white  marvel  out  of  doors  this  morning?  The 
snow  storm  must  have  been  heavy  and  recent. ' ' 

Then,  in  an  impersonal  way,  they  chatted  dur- 
ing breakfast,  and  later  meeting  in  the  Observa- 
tion Car,  they  naturally  gravitated  to  adjoining 
chairs  and  soon  were  giving  evidences  of  mutual 
attraction,  whilst  a  driving  snow  storm  came  up 
and  obscured  the  view  of  the  landscape. 

It  was  midafternoon  when  the  train  was 
stopped  in  a  Wyoming  waste  by  a  huge  snow  drift. 


162  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

There  were  rumors  of  the  coming  of  a  rotary 
snow  plow  from  the  West,  but  as  hour  after  hour 
passed  by  and  no  relief  came,  the  passengers,  with 
worried  questionings,  prepared  for  a  night  of 
stalled  inaction,  most  of  them  retiring  to  their 
compartments  at  an  early  hour,  and  so  it  happened 
that  "Haroun  of  the  Stars"  and  "Zara  the 
Singer"  were  left  alone  in  the  observation  car, 
occupying  the  rear  chairs  and  gazing  out  into  the 
night. 

Nephi  knew  that  when  he  told  his  companion 
who  he  was  and  of  his  lineage  that  all  the  appar- 
ent friendliness  she  had  been  exhibiting  towards 
him  might  freeze  into  a  crust  of  repulsion,  just  as 
the  bitter  wind  outside  was  freezing  the  snow  into 
an  icy  crust,  but  at  last  he  felt  that  he  must  tell 
her  the  truth,  whatever  the  consequences. 

Finding  a  suitable  opportunity,  he  broached 
the  subject  in  this  way: 

11  Don't  you  think  we  might  now  waive  the 
presence  of  a  mutual  friend  to  introduce  us,  and  at 
least  consider  the  question  of  an  acquaintanceship 
by  name  until  our  journey  ends?" 

The  girl  replied,  without  hesitation: 

"Why,  yes.    I'm  sure  I  now  have  no  objection. 
My  stage  name  is  'Maybelle  Artisan,'  but  alas,  my. 
own  name  is  much  more  prosaic,  it  is  Mabel  Smith, 
and  I  was  born  in  Kansas  City  and  claim  it  as  my 
home. ' ' 

The  young  man  was  delighted  with  the  frank- 
ness of  the  girl,  but  little  did  he  reck  that  under 
the  simple  family  name  which  he  had  now  learned 
lurked  a  problem  which  he  must  solve  in  wisdom 
and  devotion  or  his  budding  hopes  would  be  chilled 


ROMANCE  OF  THIRD  DEGREE      163 

by  as  bitter  a  sectarian  wind  as  was  the  howling 
hurricane  which  rocked  the  car  they  occupied. 

Answering  the  friendly  words  of  the  girl,  he 
said: 

"I  am  Nephi  Woodruff  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
I  particularly  wish  you  to  know  that  my  great 
grandfather  was  a  president  of  the  Mormon 
Church." 

Noting  that  his  companion  was  visibly  startled, 
he  immediately  added : 

"I  feared  my  Mormon  descent  would  chill  your 
friendliness  and,  were  it  not  that  something 
greater  than  a  day's  association  may  be  involved, 
I  would  not  have  been  so  explicit." 

Then  looking  the  young  woman  intently  in  her 
eyes,  he  concluded : 

"I  would  like  to  talk  openly  with  you  of  my 
personal  beliefs  and  disbeliefs,  though  I  am  en- 
tirely aware  that  you  may  consider  my  desire  to 
do  so  both  presumptuous  and  an  unwarranted  im- 
position upon  your  kindness  in  brightening  our 
journey  for  me." 

With  an  air  of  reserve  and  yet  marked  with  a 
substratum  of  keen  curiosity,  the  young  woman 
made  answer: 

"Do  you  believe  that  Joseph  Smith  was  a 
prophet  and  that  the  Book  of  Mormon,  like  the 
Bible,  is  divinely  inspired!" 

Surprised  with  the  apparent  familiarity  of  the 
girl  with  Mormon  subjects,  Nephi  Woodruff  re- 
flected a  little  while  before  answering,  and  then, 
as  he  was  about  to  reply,  his  companion  hastily 
broke  in : 


164  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"Do  you  believe  that  God  gave  the  revelation 
about  polygamy  which  your  branch  of  the  Mor- 
mon Church  believes  He  did?" 

With  no  glimpse  of  the  truth,  Nephi,  with  puz- 
zled air,  said: 

"I  am  naturally  surprised  with  your  apparent 
familiarity  with  Mormon  religious  matters,  espe- 
cially so  because  most  non-Mormons  do  not  know 
that  there  are  two  branches  of  the  Mormon 
Church,  but  you  now  have  kindly  given  me  the 
opportunity  I  desired,  and  I  will  answer  you 
frankly. 

1  i  For  several  years,  I  have  not  believed  in  any 
shred  of  my  ancestral  religion  and,  to  be  utterly 
truthful,  I  must  say,  that  I  was  compelled  some 
time  ago  to  discard  as  untrue  all  claims  that  either 
the  Book  of  Mormons  or  the  Jewish  Bible  is  in- 
spired. As  to  the  so-called  polygamy  revelation, 
it  is  shocking  in  its  sensuality  and  my  ideals  of 
married  companionship  find  only  detestation  for  a 
doctrine  which  would  place  more  than  one  wife  in 
any  home. ' ' 

Again  had  Mabel  exhibited  a  startled  attitude 
as  she  listened  to  the  young  man. 

"Well,"  she  said,  "I  haven't  had  occasion  to 
discuss  religion  much  of  late  years,  being  deeply 
occupied  with  my  musical  education,  but  you  seem 
to  have  become  very  radical.  Are  you  an  Athe- 
ist?" 

The  answer  came  without  hesitation: 

"Absolutely  not.  My  belief  in  God  is  infinitely 
higher  and  truer  and  better  than  is  the  belief  of 
any  one  who  accepts  as  true  the  Bible  or  the  Book 


ROMANCE  OF  THIRD  DEGREE      165 

of  Mormon  or  any  of  the  so-called  revelations  of 
the  Scriptures  or  of  the  Mormon  Doctrines  and 
Covenants.  They  would  debase  God,  but  Science, 
of  which  I  am  a  humble  disciple,  finds  Him  mani- 
fest in  the  universe  in  such  a  supreme,  dominant, 
all-pervading  majesty  and  power  and  infinite  pur- 
posive goodness,  that  the  many  petty,  gross  and 
irrational  conceptions  of  Him  contained  in  the 
Bible  and  the  Book  of  Mormon  become  as  worthy 
of  condemnation  as  the  tales  of  Jupiter  and  Mars 
and  Vulcan  and  Venus,  and  all  the  plurality  of 
Gods  worshiped  in  the  temples  of  Rome. ' ' 

Unconsciously  as  he  spoke,  Nephi  had  straight- 
ened up  in  his  chair  and  his  voice  took  on  a 
reverent  tone,  which  left  his  companion  no  doubt 
of  his  sincerity. 

4 'You  almost  take  my  breath  away  with  the 
boldness  of  your  claims.  I  fear  I  cannot  under- 
stand your  belief,  but  now  that  I  know  you  do  not 
believe  in  the  doctrines  of  the  'Brighamite'  or 
'Utah'  branch  of  the  Mormon  Church,  I  am  going 
to  surprise  you. 

"My  father  is  president  of  the  Re-organized 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints, 
and  I  am  a  great,  great  granddaughter  of  Joseph 
Smith  Jr.,  who  founded  the  Mormon  Church,  as 
you  know. 

"I  have  accepted,  without  question,  the  doc- 
trines of  my  church  and,  amongst  them,  the  denial 
that  Joseph  Smith  ever  received  from  God  the 
alleged  revelation  about  polygamy. 

!<We  are  the  true  lineal  descendants  of  Joseph 
Smith,  while  your  Utah  Smiths  are  only  a  col- 
lateral line,  and  I  was  taught  that  it  was  the  seed 


166  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

of  Joseph  Smith  which  should  be  the  rulers  over 
Zion,  as  Joseph  himself  prophesied  and  God  re- 
vealed. 

1  'But  it  has  all  lost  much  of  its  original  power 
over  my  mind  as  I  have  mingled  with  the  Gentiles, 
but  your  repudiation  of  the  Bible  and  suggestion 
that  there  is  something  higher  and  better  has 
aroused  my  curiosity.  I  would  like  to  hear  more 
about  the  religion  you  adhere  to,  if  it  really  is  a 
religion. ' ' 

Nephi  had  listened  to  his  companion  with  an 
amazement  and  intentness  which  left  him  almost 
without  power  to  answer  and,  when  she  ceased, 
hope  leaped  into  his  eyes  as  he  returned  her  direct 
gaze. 

That  she  was  a  Mormon,  though  of  the  "Jo- 
sephite"  branch  of  that  church,  meant  at  least 
that  he  had  not  to  overcome  the  natural  repulsion 
which  nearly  all  Gentiles  feel  to  any  degree  of 
intimacy  with  a  Mormon,  especially  one  of  a 
polygamous  family. 

It  was  then  that  Nephi  Woodruff  told  the 
young  woman  of  the  Society  of  Progress  and 
learned  from  her  that  she  was  on  her  way  to  Salt 
Lake  City  to  sing  as  leading  contralto  in  a  great 
annual  musical  festival  which  had  become  a  fea- 
ture of  that  city's  social  life. 

She  told  him,  also,  that  no  one  in  Salt  Lake 
City  knew  her  family  name  or  history  and  that 
she  rather  gloried  in  secret  that  she  would  sing 
from  the  pulpit  platform  of  the  "Brighamite" 
tabernacle. 

Parting  for  the  night,  it  was  with  the  mutual 
understanding  that  Mabel  Smith  would  consider 


ROMANCE  OF  THIED  DEGREE      167 

the  idea  of  taking  the  degrees  of  the  Society  and 
that  they  would  discuss  the  absorbing  subject 
more  on  the  morrow. 

Four  bitterly  cold,  drifty  days  followed  and 
still  the  road  was  not  opened,  so  their  train  could 
proceed.  Fortunately,  the  electric  current  from 
the  generating  unit  did  not  fail  and  no  hardship 
from  the  cold  came  to  anyone  on  the  train,  but  on 
the  second  day  Nephi  Woodruff,  quite  as  a  matter 
of  course,  joined  a  small  party  of  volunteers  who 
tramped  in  the  smother  of  fine,  biting  particles 
six  miles  to  the  nearest  general  store  and  on  im- 
provised sleighs  dragged  a  load  of  substantial  pro- 
visions back  over  the  toilsome  trail. 

The  solicitous  greeting  he  received  from  Mabel 
Smith,  when  he  returned,  quite  compensated  for 
the  aching  muscles  his  exertion  had  caused. 

To  others  on  the  train  it  was  becoming  appar- 
ent that  a  romance  was  flowering  under  their  eyes, 
but  to  Nephi,  unwilling  to  risk  his  heart's  desire 
too  soon,  it  was  great  secret  consolation  that  the 
eyes  of  Mabel  had  grown  very  like  the  eyes  of  Zara 
the  Singer,  as  she  looked  into  the  eyes  of  Haroun 
of  the  Stars  on  the  well-remembered  night  in 
Arabia. 


CHAPTEK  XIX. 

THE  THIRD  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF  OUR  WORLD. 

MABEL  SMITH  had  lingered  in  Salt  Lake 
City  after  her  engagement  for  the  musical 
festival  had  ended. 

As  a  guest  of  Mollie  Kichards,  she  had  keenly 
enjoyed  her  first  visit  to  the  stronghold  of  the  sec- 
tarian enemy  of  her  father's  religion,  for  it  was 
still  the  Mormon's  chief  city,  although  as  early  as 
1905  it  was  ascertained  that  Salt  Lake  City  was 
more  Gentile  than  Mormon  in  its  population. 

But  it  was  under  new  mental  attitudes  she 
viewed  the  local  Mormons  when  she  realized  that 
the  regenerative  power  of  the  Society  of  Prog- 
ress was  honey-combing  the  most  advanced  Mor- 
mon families. 

She  knew,  as  maids  generally  know,  under  like 
circumstances,  that  Nephi  Woodruff  looked  on  her 
with  eyes  of  adoration,  and  perhaps  it  was  due  as 
much  to  that  fact  as  to  her  desire  to  learn  what 
the  Society  of  Progress  had  to  teach  that  she  had 
taken  the  First  and  Second  Degrees. 

It  was  early  one  morning  when  she  entered  the 
door  of  the  Chamber  of  Our  World  to  take  the 
Third  Degree,  accompanying  Mollie  Kichards.  To 
Mahonri  Taylor  had  been  delegated  the  instruc- 
tion of  this  degree. 

As  in  the  Chamber  of  the  Stars,  the  entrance 
to  the  Chamber  of  Our  World  led  into  a  beautiful 
alcove,  and  this  alcove  was  known  as  ' '  The  Alcove 

168 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  OUE  WORLD    169 

of  the  Three  Panels,"  for  upon  its  walls  were  that 
number  of  the  condensed  instruction  tablets  so 
characteristic  of  the  Society's  degree  work. 

The  body  of  these  panels  was  a  lovely  shaded 
green  and  the  letters  were  in  dull  gold. 

Was  it  wrong  for  Mollie  Richards  to  have  in- 
timated to  Nephi  Woodruff  that  Mabel  Smith  had 
been  deeply  moved  by  the  instruction  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  the  Stars  and  that  she  seemed  quite  as 
strongly  impressed  with  the  instructor  as  the  in- 
struction? 

Was  it  also  due  to  a  hint  from  Mollie  that 
Nephi  was  loitering  at  the  entrance  to  the  Alcove 
of  the  Three  Panels  that  morning? 

Mabel's  surprised  sweet  welcome  was  surely 
pleasant  to  her  lover  and  his  frank  appropriation 
of  her  guidance  through  the  Chamber  of  Our 
World  seemed  to  be  objectionable  neither  to 
Mabel  nor  to  Mollie,  the  latter  managing  to  keep 
discreetly  aloof  from  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood of  her  friends. 

Was  it  her  own  great  happiness  with  Lincoln 
Smith  which  made  her  wise? 

Haven 't  you  watched  an  approaching  happy 
climax  to  the -heart  longings  of  two  true  lovers 
with  a  keen  desire  to  afford  opportunity  for  them 
to  learn  ' '  the  sweetest  knowledge  life  can  teach  ? ' ' 

Expressing  to  Nephi  something  of  the  pro- 
found impression  the  first  two  degrees  had  pro- 
duced in  her,  Mabel  turned  to  read  for  seven  times 
the  panels  of  the  alcove,  and  the  first  at  once  riv- 
eted her  attention  because  it  was  one  of  the  con- 
flicts between  Science  and  Genesis  foreshadowed 
in  the  previous  degree. 


170  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


I.    THE  BIRTH  OF  OUR  WORLD. 

Science  has  spelled  out  God's  own  revel- 
ations about  the  birth  of  our  world  and  from 
ascertained  truth  she  tells  you  this: 

Not  as  the  center  of  the  Universe  with 
the  sun  and  stars  fixed  in  a  firmament  for 
lights  and  "for  signs  and  seasons" — 

Not  as  a  separate  creation  direct  from  the 
hands  of  God — 

But  as  a  natural  growth  from  Cosmical 
matter  involved  in  Cosmic  Evolution  and 
governed  by  its  laws  our  world  came  into  ex- 
istence, just  as  came  the  other  several  major 
planets  of  our  solar  system  and  their  satel- 
lites and  the  half  of  a  thousand  minor  planets 
and  also  our  sun  itself  and  every  other  sun  in 
the  universe. 

BUT  GOD  IS  THE  CREATOR  OF  COS- 
MIC EVOLUTION  AND  IS  EVERYWHERE 
AND  ALWAYS  IMMANENT  IN  ITS  PROG- 
RESS. 


Noting  that  Mabel  looked  a  little  puzzled  after 
reading  this  panel,  Nephi  quietly  asked  her  to 
await  her  reading  of  the  other  panels  and  the  gen- 
eral instruction  of  the  Degree  in  order  to  better 
understand  the  panel. 

She  then  eagerly  turned  to  the  next  panel  to 
find  Genesis  again  denied. 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  OUR  WORLD  171 


II.    THE  AGE  OF  OUR  WORLD. 

Just  how  our  earth  was  formed  has  not 
yet  been  fully  revealed,  but  there  are  certain 
true  monuments  of  Geology  and  of  Astron- 
omy, Chemistry  and  Physics  which  are  God's 
revelations  respecting  the  age  of  our  world. 

Not  4004  B.  C.,  as  the  chronology  of  the 
Jewish  Bible  would  have  it,  that  our  world 
was  born;  that  is  absurdity. 

Not  400,000  years  are  enough  to  account 
for  the  facts  disclosed  by  Science. 

The  geological  story  reveals  that  ever 
since  our  earth  began  its  separate  existence 
as  a  planet  there  has  been  unceasing  action  of 
the  forces  of  nature,  the  evolutional  forces, 
upon  the  rock  materials  of  the  globe.  These 
forces  "have  worked  during  a  time  which  is 
immeasurably  long,  when  estimated  by  such 
changes  on  the  earth  as  have  happened  dur- 
ing human  history.  This  time  cannot  be  ex- 
pressed in  centuries." 

Scientists  hesitate  to  express  a  limit  of 
one  hundred  million  years  to  the  age  of  our 
earth. 

Does  it  matter  that  no  measurement  by 
years  can  be  accurately  made? 

IT  IS  GOD'S  PLAN— WHATEVER  THE 
TIME. 


172  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

With  clearing  brow,  Mabel  turned  to  Nephi 
and  said: 

"I  have  seen  both  the  Gorge  at  Niagara  and 
The  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado,  so  it  is  easy 
for  me  to  understand  this  panel." 

She  then  turned  to  the  third  panel  in  the  al- 
cove: 


III.  FITTING     OUR   EARTH   FOR   THE 
CREATURE  OF  INTELLIGENCE. 

From  the  time  primeval  when  our  world 
became  a  solid-crusted  globe,  forces  of  evolu- 
tion have  been  moving  continuously  under 
the  sway  of  Cosmic  laws  to  fit  the  earth  for 
the  life  and  activities  of  the  creature  of  intel- 
ligence who  would  take  advantage  of  nature's 
bounty  and  adapt  nature's  forces  to  his  own 
use.  Later  Degrees  will  establish  this. 

The  Society  of  Progress  asks  you  to  keep 
in  remembrance  that  "the  Established  Order 
of  the  Universe,"  emanating  from  "an  in- 
finite and  eternal  energy  from  which  all 
things  proceed,"  means  that  the  evolutional 
forces  are  working  out  an  infinite  Design 
though  nothing  supernatural  is  involved  in 
the  working  out  of  the  process. 

ALL  TERRESTRIAL  EVOLUTION 
EVIDENCES  THE  WORKING  OUT  OF 
GOD'S  PLAN  FOR  OUR  WORLD, 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  OUR  WORLD    173 

Having  concluded  the  readings  of  the  Three 
Panels,  Mabel  was  led  by  Nephi  through  heavy 
curtains  into  a  chamber  where  a  stage  was  set 
as  though  for  a  moving  picture  exhibition,  and 
already  assembled  were  quite  a  number  of  ini- 
tiates. 

Presently  Mahonri  Taylor  stepped  to  the  front 
of  the  platform  and,  as  was  his  usual  duty,  deliv- 
ered the  general  instruction,  aided  by  the  remark- 
able displays  which  had  been  devised  to  impress 
the  teachings  upon  the  disciples. 

Here  again  it  is  not  possible  to  adequately  de- 
scribe and  portray  the  instruction  of  the  degree. 

*  *       * 

Referring  to  the  second  panel  of  this  degree, 
the  instructor  first  said  in  brief: 

4 '  The  oldest  rocks  which  have  been  discovered 
on  any  part  of  the  globe  have  probably  been  de- 
rived from  other  rocks  older  than  themselves. 

"So  geology  cannot  go  back  to  the  beginning 
of  the  world  as  a  separate  sphere. 

"But  astronomy,  physics  and  chemistry  point 
to  a  period  extremely  remote,  when,  under  the 
sway  of  Cosmic  laws  from  an  intensely  heated 
gaseous  condition,  our  earth  began  to  cool  and 
condense  towards  a  center,  always  ruled  by  the 
domination  of  gravitation,  bringing  its  elements 
closer  and  closer  together,  and  with  further  cool- 
ing and  condensation  through  periods  immeasur- 
able, the  original  solid  outer  crusts  were  formed. 
It  is  deemed  probable  that,  while  the  earth  was  in 
a  plastic  state,  our  moon  was  thrown  off  from  its 

mass." 

*  *       * 


174  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Thereupon  the  delighted  disciples  saw  the 
birth  of  a  world  as  a  solid  sphere. 

From  a  vast,  swirling,  brilliant,  gaseous,  globe- 
like  body  depicted  so  as  to  fill  the  whole  scene  on 
the  stage,  a  visible  condensation  gradually  re- 
duced the  sphere  until  finally  it  glowed  in  a  beau- 
tiful incandescent  solid  globe,  and  slowly  the  fires 
of  the  surface  died  down  and  finally  no  self -glow 
illumined  the  surface  of  the  sphere,  only  the  light 
of  the  sun,  and  the  stars,  as  first  day  and  then 
night  swept  over  the  face  of  the  globe  in  the  great 

picture. 

*  *      # 

The  instruction  then  revealed  that,  until  in  its 
"Courses  of  Evolution,"  our  world  had  by  natural 
law  sufficiently  cooled  from  fusion,  water  existed 
only  as  vapor,  but  at  last  condensation  came  and 
oceans  were  formed.  Not  the  oceans  of  today,  but 
"an  almost  universal  ocean  with  small  lands — 
enough  land  to  mark  out  the  feature  lines  of  fu- 
ture continents."  These  lands  constituted  what 
are  termed  Archaean  rocks  and  not  the  soil-cov- 
ered earth  as  we  know  it. 

*  *      * 

Then  there  appeared  upon  the  screen  a  strange 
map,  showing  the  world  areas  where  the  archaean 
rocks  constitute  the  surface  rocks  of  the  land, 
demonstrating  that  the  oceans  had  never  sub- 
merged these  relatively  small  segments.  Great 

oceans  and  small  lands  indeed. 

*  #       * 

In  wonderful  graphic  display  and  illuminating 
instruction,  the  disciples  beheld  and  were  told  of 
the  marvels  of  Historical  Geology. 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  OUR  WORLD    175 

First:  The  grand  ''Succession  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  rocks  of  the  earth"  and  how  the  various 
rocks  were  made  evidencing  untold  ages  of  rock- 
making  which,  even  now,  is  going  on. 

Second:  "The  progress  in  the  continents 
from  their  small  beginnings  to  their  present  mag- 
nitude. ' ' 

Third:  The  vast  "changes  of  level  ever 
going  on,  and  the  raising  of  mountains  at  long  in- 
tervals in  the  course  of  the  ages,  the  highest  and 
longest  in  the  last  of  these  great  geological 
periods  just  before  the  era  of  Man." 

Fourth:  "The  multiplication  of  rivers  as  the 
dry  land  extended  and  thereby  the  excavation  of 
valleys,  the  shaping  of  lofty  ridges,  giving  gran- 
deur to  the  mountains,  and  the  spreading  of  the 
lower  lands  with  soil  and  fertility." 

Fifth:  "The  changes  in  climate  from  the  uni- 
versal warmth  of  the  Archaean  world  to  the  exist- 
ing variety  of  heat  and  cold. ' ' 

The  graphic  pictures  demonstrating  the  long 
ages  of  earth  progress  absorbed  the  attention  of 

every  disciple. 

*      #       * 

Life  had  come  into  the  story,  as  immense  areas 
were  shown  to  owe  enormous  parts  of  their  rock 
strata  to  creatures  from  the  oceans  and  also  great 
earth  crust  layers  to  the  rank  growths  of  the 
vegetable  kingdom  making  enormous  coal  beds, 
but  the  instructor  warned  the  disciples  that  the 
story  of  life  before  man  would  be  unfolded  in  the 
Fourth  Degree. 


176  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  final  instruction  of  the  degree  was  impres- 
sive. 

Go  to  God's  own  monuments  for  the  story  of 
our  world,  not  to  any  fanciful  tale  of  the  Chal- 
deans, confusedly  retold  in  Genesis. 

"Go  to  mountains  and  valleys,  and  rivers,  and 
lakes,  and  oceans. 

' '  Go  to  the  wonderful  rocks  which  tell  the  mar- 
velous stories  of  the  process  of  evolution  in  the 
making  of  our  world  as  it  now  is.  These  stories 
are  the  truth  and  are  infinitely  more  wonderful  in 
evidencing  God's  Plan  than  the  childish  contradic- 
tory tales  of  Creation  told  in  Jewish  folk-lore. 

"Seek  the  Truth  with  hope  and  a  new  Faith 
that  ere  the  Degrees  are  ended  the  great  lesson  to 
humanity  of  all  that  exists  will  be  unfolded  in  high 
spiritual  power,  and  religious  satisfaction." 

Mabel  Smith  had  been  so  absorbed  in  the  in- 
struction and  the  illustrations,  that  the  final  words 
found  her  full  of  desire  to  talk  it  over  with  Nephi 
Woodruff  and,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mollie  Rich- 
ards, the  trio  went  into  the  Chamber  of  Council, 
which  most  initiates  never  saw,  as  it  was  the  con- 
ference room  of  the  Seven,  and  not  used  for  any  of 
the  Degree  work. 

Mollie  soon  excused  herself  temporarily,  while 
she  sought  Lincoln  Smith,  and  then  the  dream  of 
Haroun  of  the  Stars  became  swift  reality. 

When  Mollie  had  gone,  a  sudden  restraint  came 
upon  the  two  who  were  left  alone  in  the  business- 
like Chamber.  Nephi  looked  long  into  Mabel's 
eyes,  and  then,  in  a  soft,  low  voice,  told  her  the 
story  of  his  dream  of  the  fair  huntress  on  the 
Arabian  mountain. 


THE  CHAMBER  OF  OUR  WORLD    177 

When  the  tale  was  over,  he  offered  to  her  the 
strong  love  and  devotion  which  Haroun  of  the 
Stars  had  pledged  to  Zara  the  Singer  and  with 
expressions  of  happiness  Mabel  came  into  his  out- 
stretched arms. 

It  was  thus  that  Mollie  Richards  and  Lincoln 
Smith  found  them  and  their  warm  congratulations 
evidenced  the  fact  that  the  Third  Degree  had 
brought  its  little  romance  to  a  happy  stage. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  FOURTH  DEGREE. 

THE  great  Salt  Sea,  after  which  Salt  Lake 
City  is  named,  lies  in  general  disuse  every 
year  from  mid-September  to  the  next  30th 
of  May,  for,  except  for  bathing  and  short  pleasure 
boating  trips  during  the  bathing  season,  its  great 
expanse  knows  no  intrusion  from  the  human 
family,  although  some  of  its  islands  teem  with 
bird-life,  including  great  colonies  of  pelicans,  sea 
gulls,  cormorants  and  cranes. 

But  from  "Decoration  Day"  to  "Labor  Day" 
each  year  at  Salt  Sea  Beach  the  remarkable  resort 
on  Antelope  Island  eighteen  miles  from  Salt  Lake 
City,  hundreds  of  thousands  enjoy  the  unique 
bathing.  Some  years  ago  the  famous  old  resort, 
Saltair  Beach,  built  by  the  Mormon  Church, 
burned  to  the  water,  over  which  the  building  stood, 
and  the  newer  resort  ever  since  has  been  the  de- 
light of  those  who  enjoy  the  wonderful  bath  in  the 
veritable  brine. 

One  mid-summer  evening  in  1935  Mathonihah 
Cowley  had  deserted  the  heated  city  and  was  en- 
joying keenly  a  floating  swim  at  Salt  Sea  Beach. 
Not  having  encountered  any  friends  among  the 
thousands  who  likewise  floated  on  the  lake's  sur- 
face, he  went  far  out  by  turning  on  his  back  and 
sturdily  kicking  the  heavy  water  upon  which  his 
body  floated,  as  a  cork  does  in  fresh  water. 

178 


ROMANCE  OF  FOURTH  DEGREE    179 

Thinking  intently  of  the  success  which  the  So- 
ciety of  Progress  was  attaining,  "Mat,"  as  the 
remaining  members  of  the  Seven  called  him,  had 
not  observed  either  his  surroundings  or  the  fact 
that  towards  the  beach  the  thousands  of  bathers 
were  scurrying  for  the  shore.  Neither  had  the 
portentous  sky  to  the  North  attracted  his  atten- 
tion. 

Suddenly,  with  a  crash  of  thunder  and  a  tor- 
nado blast,  the  storm  which  had  frightened  the 
other  bathers  burst  over  Mat's  head,  and  he  be- 
came aware  that  the  smother  of  rain,  combined 
with  the  black  storm  clouds,  had  shut  off  entirely 
any  view  of  the  Beach  buildings  and  even  of  the 
island  itself. 

Perplexed  to  know  in  which  way  he  ought  to 
direct  his  efforts  to  reach  the  shore,  he  resolved 
to  battle  against  the  wind  by  swimming  on 
his  back,  to  avoid  the  spray,  which,  if  carried  into 
his  eyes,  would  literally  blind  him  for  a  time,  or 
into  his  throat  would  literally  choke  him,  so  in- 
tensely saline  is  the  water. 

Scarcely  had  he  turned  to  commence  the  strug- 
gle which  he  knew  he  must  make  when  he  was 
surprised  beyond  measure  to  hear,  close  to  his  ear, 
a  feminine  voice  shouting  to  be  heard  above  the 
noises  of  the  tempest. 

"Can  you  direct  me  to  the  Beach?  Isn't  this 
storm  terrible ?  I  am  lost  entirely  and  don't  know 
where  to  go  to  reach  the  land." 

Almost  within  arms'  length  Mat's  quick  glance 
discovered  a  young  woman  floating  upon  her  back 
and  looking  at  him  with  apparent  anxiety. 


180  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  storm  seemed  to  increase  in  intensity  and 
waves  were  beginning  to  lift  their  leaden  spray- 
tipped  crests,  adding  elements  of  actual  danger, 
both  because  of  forcing  the  bathers  away  from 
the  distant  Beach  and  of  the  danger  of  strangula- 
tion from  the  bitter  waters. 

One  cannot  drown  in  Great  Salt  Lake,  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  for  the  bather  cannot 
sink,  but  more  than  one  life  has  gone  out  by  the 
strangulation  which  follows  swallowing  the  brine, 
which  is  twenty  per  cent  salt.  Mat  Cowley  real- 
ized at  once  that  unless  the  storm  abated  quickly 
there  would  be  keen  necessity  for  him  to  use  every 
effort  to  protect  the  life  of  the  girl  whose  fate  was 
so  suddenly  thrust  into  his  care. 

It  chanced  that  he  had  heard  of  an  all-night 
struggle  that  two  boys  had  once  made  in  just  such 
a  storm,  in  which  they  were  driven  at  dusk  by 
pitiless  blasts  far  from  Saltair  Beach  and,  after 
hours  of  struggle,  the  younger  finally  succumbed 
to  exhaustion  and  chill  miles  northward,  near 
Antelope  Island,  while  his  companion  barely  man- 
aged to  keep  from  giving  up  the  struggle  until 
daybreak,  when  he  was  able  feebly  to  float  to  the 
shore,  bitterly  mourning  the  loss  of  his  little 
friend. 

Endeavoring  to  reassure  the  young  woman 
and,  at  the  same  time,  seeking  to  prepare  her  for 
the  possible  struggle  which  now  seemed  to  be  in 
store  for  them,  the  young  man  said : 

"I'm  sorry,  but  just  now  I  am  unable  to  tell 
just  where  the  Beach  is,  except  that  the  storm 
came  from  the  North.  We  would  better  try  to 
maintain  our  present  plan  of  meeting  the  waves 


ROMANCE  OF  FOURTH  DEGREE  181 

head  on,  but  I  think  it  would  be  useless  to  try  to 
make  much  progress  just  yet,  because  we  might 
exhaust  ourselves  too  much. 

Mat  also  knew  that  sometimes  such  storms, 
engendered  in  the  heat  of  the  desert,  would  sweep 
the  lake  for  half  a  day,  and  he  quickly  matured  his 
plans  to  meet  the  worst.  Again  addressing  his 
companion,  he  said: 

"Fate  has  made  our  present  fortunes  the  same. 
It  may  happen  that  we  cannot  reach  the  shore  for 
several  hours,  while  this  storm  lasts.  I  have  three 
sisters,  and  one  of  them  is  about  your  age.  Won't 
you  trust  yourself  to  my  care,  as  if  you  were  one 
of  them?" 

The  young  woman  had  sensed  the  danger  of  a 
long  struggle,  with  gradually  weakened  muscles, 
making  the  fight  a  hard  one,  and  she  was  relieved 
to  have  the  offer  of  assistance. 

"I  will  do  just  what  you  suggest.  I  confess  I 
am  afraid  of  the  black  night  which  has  enveloped 
us." 

In  assisting  a  novice  or  "towing"  a  friend  on 
the  surface  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  the  ordinary 
method  is  to  place  your  hands  under  the  armpits, 
and  it  was  in  this  way  that  Mat  Cowley  managed 
to  ease  the  struggle  for  his  fair  companion,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  he  ceased  to  attempt  any  prog- 
ress againt  the  never-ceasing  tornado. 

Fearing  a  chill,  he  advised  the  young  woman  to 
keep  her  limbs  beneath  the  water  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, as  the  water  was  noticeably  warmer  than 
the  air,  and  also  to  kick  gently  occasionally,  so  as 
to  keep  up  the  circulation. 


182  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

He  expressly  relieved  her  from  attempting 
conversation  and  during  the  ensuing  four  hours 
but  few  words  were  exchanged,  and  these  only  to 
discuss  the  raging  storm  and  to  give  mutual  assur- 
ances that  as  yet  exhaustion  had  not  come. 

It  was  close  to  midnight  when  Mat  Cowley  be- 
came aware  of  a  new  sound  mingling  with  the  roar 
of  the  tempest. 

Asking  his  companion  to  listen,  also,  they  soon 
concurred  in  the  conclusion  that  they  were  near  a 
shore,  and  a  sudden  break  in  the  clouds  overhead 
swept  moonlight  across  the  white-capped  waves 
and  revealed  close  at  hand  a  mountainous  stretch 
of  land  with  the  waves  beating  upon  the  shore. 

There  is  no  material  difficulty  in  a  bather  land- 
ing on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  as  he  can  float  in 
safety  to  the  very  land  itself. 

It  was  with  intense  relief  that  Mat  Cowley 
finally  found  himself  with  his  unknown  companion 
landed  safely  on  a  desert  shore,  although  he  did 
not  then  know  just  where  their  refuge  was  sit- 
uated. However,  he  had  correctly  surmised  that 
the  force  of  the  tempest  and  the  drift  of  the  waves 
had  carried  them  to  Stansbury  Island,  which  is 
an  entirely  uninhabited  island  lying  southwest  of 
Antelope  Island. 

His  relief  at  their  finding  terra  firma  under 
their  feet  was  tempered  much  with  the  knowledge 
that  if  they  had  landed  on  Stansbury  Island,  there 
was  no  drinking  water  at  all  within  its  boundaries. 

While  the  storm  was  abating,  yet  the  wind  was 
chill,  so  the  young  man  had  hurried  his  companion 
to  the  leeward  of  a  big  rock  on  the  shore,  and, 
finding  a  bed  of  sand,  he  dug  down  into  it  with 


ROMANCE  OF  FOURTH  DEGREE    183 

rapid-flying  hands  until  he  had  completed  an  exca- 
vation large  enough  to  contain  the  short,  graceful 
figure  of  the  young  woman.  Clad  only  in  her  bath- 
ing suit,  the  welcome  warmth  of  the  sand  was  most 
grateful  and,  after  he  had  dug  a  like  pit  for  him- 
self, he  turned  to  address  his  companion,  only  to 
ascertain  that  she  had  fallen  fast  asleep. 

Watching  the  scurrying  clouds,  now  yielding 
sovereignty  over  the  midnight  sky  to  pale  Luna, 
and  thinking  how  he  could  manage  to  rescue  his 
fair  companion  and  himself  from  the  island  on 
which  they  had  landed,  for  he  now  had  ascertained 
from  the  glittering  lights  and  the  dull  glow  of 
molten  slag  shining  out  from  the  distant  smelter 
city  at  the  southward  end  of  the  lake  that  they 
were  on  the  island,  he  was  startled  to  quick  activ- 
ity by  the  sound  of  a  steam  whistle,  comparatively 
near  at  hand.  Digging  quickly  out  of  his  sand 
burrow,  he  ran  around  the  rock  and  beheld  the 
staunch  Beach  steamer,  "Lady  Bonneville,"  some 
distance  up  the  lake.  She  was  throwing  the  beams 
of  her  searchlight  far  and  wide  in  sweeping  cir- 
cles over  the  wave-tossed  surface  of  the  lake  and 
occasionally  sounding  her  whistle. 

At  last  the  southward  course  of  the  steamer 
brought  the  shore  of  the  island  under  the  spell  of 
the  searchlight  and  the  watching  group  on  the 
deck  of  the  boat  saw  a  marionette-like  figure,  clad 
only  in  a  bathing  suit,  dancing  a  frantic  jig  on  the 
shore. 

That  despair  entered  the  hearts  of  the  two 
young  women  on  the  boat  as  they  saw  the  solitary 
masculine  form  on  the  shore  and  joy  entered  the 
souls  of  six  young  men,  was  the  natural  result  of 


184  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

the  disclosure  of  the  glistening  gleams  which  now 
remained  fixed  on  the  figure  which  had  been  dis- 
covered. 

Amazement  next  submerged  all  of  the  gazers 
as  they  saw  the  young  man  swiftly  run  to  a  huge 
rock  and  disappear  behind  it,  but  happiness  came 
to  all,  when  he  soon  returned  leading  by  the  hand 
a  trim  feminine  figure,  silhouetted  in  the  search- 
ing rays. 

These  two  of  the  thousands  who  had  bathed  at 
Salt  Sea  Beach  were  lost  and  now  they  had  been 
found. 

Darwin  Snowson  and  his  five  associates  were 
soon  thumping  Mat  Cowley  on  the  back  in  keen 
delight  and  affection,  while  the  two  friends  of  the 
young  woman,  in  the  seclusion  of  a  stateroom, 
were  shedding  tears  of  joy  over  the  rescue  of  the 
lovely  girl,  who  was  soon  clad  in  her  own  raiment, 
which  had  been  brought  by  her  friends. 

It  was  in  quite  conventional  summer  garb  that 
Mat  Cowley  and  Mildred  Thatcher,  meeting  on  the 
steamer's  deck,  looked  for  the  first  time  squarely 
into  each  other's  faces,  and  Darwin  Snowson,  who 
was  the  confidant  of  each  of  the  romances  which 
had  come  to  the  others  of  the  Seven,  secretly 
smiled  as  he  realized  that  the  wild  night  on  the 
bitter  waters  had  brought  romance  to  the  very 
doors  of  the  souls  of  these  two,  and  his  keen 
glances  saw  the  electric  glow  of  attraction  with 
which  their  eyes  met  and  clung  in  absorbed  gaze. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    FOURTH    DEGREE.      THE    CHAMBER    OF    PRIMEVAL 

LIFE. 

MILDRED  THATCHER  was  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  a  famous  Mormon.  Best 
liked  of  his  generation  by  Gentiles  and 
many  Mormons,  it  was  often  said  that  only  the 
deadly  poison  of  polygamy,  which  had  entered  his 
veins  when  young,  prevented  him  from  becoming 
the  Moses  who  would  have  led  the  children  of  Zion 
into  better  practices  and  fairer  civilization. 

For  three  generations  the  immediate  family  of 
Mildred  Thatcher  had  forsaken  the  Mormon 
Church  and  had  lived  in  San  Francisco.  She  had 
been  visiting  relatives  in  Salt  Lake  City,  her 
grandmother  having  been  an  attractive  belle  in 
that  metropolis  in  her  youth. 

Mat  Cowley  called  on  Mildred  the  evening 
after  their  thrilling  experience  on  the  lake  and 
found  her  still  languid  from  the  long  strain,  but 
also  very  grateful  to  him. 

Echoing  the  wish  of  his  heart  he  suggested  that 
he  would  like  very  much  to  take  her  out  in  his 
automobile  the  next  afternoon,  and  was  delighted 
to  have  her  prompt  acceptance. 

On  the  trip,  while  driving  his  auto  at  snail's 
pace,  Mat  succeeded  in  letting  his  companion 
know  that  he  had  forsaken  the  Mormon  religion, 
and  also  told  her  of  the  work  of  the  Seven  in  the 
Society  of  Progress. 

185 


186  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

Mildred  was  a  graduate  of  Stanford  and  an 
evolutionist,  and  so  it  took  little  persuasion  to  in- 
duce her  to  take  the  degrees  and,  had  Mat  known 
that  her  willingness  was  largely  due  to  a  desire  to 
be  one  in  spirit  with  his  ideals,  he  might  not  have 
waited  to  confess  the  love  which  had  sprung  up 
in  his  heart.  But  he  deemed  it  wise  not  to  seek  a 
promise  which  gratitude  might  bring,  but  to  wait 
until  Mildred  should  have  time  to  feel  released 
from  the  impulses  which  her  rescue  engendered. 

To  Mildred,  as  to  most  college  graduates,  the 
instruction  of  the  Second  and  Third  Degrees  was 
like  a  summary  of  knowledge  previously  learned, 
except  in  so  far  as  the  unification  of  such  knowl- 
edge into  one  great  Process  and  the  spiritual  im- 
plications therefrom  were  new  to  many. 

She  came  to  the  Fourth  Degree  with  growing 
glimpses  of  the  final  objects  of  the  instruction  of 
the  Society  and  with  an  alert  mind,  seeking  the 
ultimate  truths,  which  each  degree  unfolded. 

The  Chamber  of  Primeval  Life  was  like  sev- 
eral of  the  others  in  that  the  initiate  was  first 
ushered  into  an  alcove  containing  panels  which 
summarized  certain  teachings  related  to  the  fur- 
ther instruction  of  the  Society. 

The  design  of  the  panels  in  this  alcove  was  in 
cerulean  with  silver  letters  and  beautiful  silver 
tracery  in  the  borders.  Upon  being  ushered  into 
the  alcove,  Mildred  Thatcher  at  once  took  up  the 
seven  readings  of  the  first  panel,  which,  like  many 
others,  asserted  that  the  actual  truth  conflicted 
with  the  "fairy  tale"  of  Creation  contained  in 
Genesis. 


I.    BIOLOGY  ALSO  DENIES  GENESIS 

The  true  history  of  the  origin  and  evolu- 
tion of  life  upon  our  Earth  is  not  at  all  the 
tale  told  in  Genesis. 

Attempts  to  reconcile  the  biblical  accounts 
with  the  actual  truth  are  mere  fanatical  irra- 
tionalities. 

The  separate  creations  by  days  as  told  in 
Genesis  cannot  be  reconciled  with  truth  by 
stretching  days  into  ages. 

The  fundamental  falsities  of  each  of  the 
two  accounts  of  Creation  in  Genesis  lie  deeper 
than  verbal  differences  with  the  Truth. 

Were  it  not  that  human  progress  along  the 
Upward  Way  towards  the  Ideal  is  checked  by 
the  blind  faith  of  millions  in  the  Jewish  Bible 
and  in  its  awful  conceptions  of  God,  begin- 
ning with  the  account  of  Creation,  the  Society 
of  Progress  would  not  emphasize  the  denials 
of  Science,  the  absolute  opposition  of  God's 
own  monuments  of  Truth,  to  the  theology  and 
teachings  of  the  Bible — and  to  the  Mormon 
Religion  founded  on  the  Bible. 

TRUE  RELIGION  NEEDS  NO  FALSE 
REVELATIONS. 


It  happened  that  Mildred  Thatcher  had  been 
emancipated  from  the  thrall  of  spiritual  bondage, 
which  stultifies  the  faith  of  those  who,  from  rev- 
erence or  from  fear,  cling  to  the  teachings  of  the 


188          THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Jewish  Bible,  and  no  shock  came  to  her  through 
the  perusal  of  this  panel.  She  felt  that  it  was 
merely  leading  her  on  to  some  greater  instruction. 
She  turned  to  the  second  panel  with  eagerness. 


II.    LIFE   A   STREAM— ALL   LIFE   RE- 
LATED. 

While  no  one  knows  to  a  certainty  how 
physical  life  came  into  its  primeval  existence 
on  our  earth,  whether  as  a  distinct  creation  in 
its  original,  simple,  microscopical,  single-cell 
form,  or  whether  it  came  as  part  of  a  Process 
which  brings  life  out  of  the  inorganic  ele- 
ments everywhere  in  the  Cosmos  when  favor- 
able planetary  conditions  are  evolved,  as 
seems  highly  probable,  and  may  ere  long  be 
scientifically  demonstrated,  yet  the  tales  of 
the  rocks  and  of  Biology  establish  clearly  that 
from  the  present  life  on  our  earth  a  continu- 
ous interlinked  chain  reaches  backward  from 
each  type  or  species  of  life  now  existent,  in- 
cluding man,  in  unbroken  line  to  the  original 
simple  forms  of  life,  primeval  many  millions 
of  years  ago. 

Thus,  each  form  of  life  is  related  in  dis- 
tant kinship,  through  the  original  simple 
forms  of  life,  to  all  other  forms  and  the  same 
life  processes  govern  and  affect  all  physical 
life,  including  the  physical  life  of  Man. 


CHAMBER  OF  PRIMEVAL  LIFE      189 


Science  calls  the  development  and  prog- 
ress of  life  on  our  earth  phases  of  Evolution 
and  part  of  General  Cosmic  Evolution. 

*      *      * 

IT  IS  WELL  TO  KNOW  THAT  IN  THE 
PHYSICAL  UNIVERSE  AT  LEAST  GOD 
ACTS  SOLELY  IN  A  REALM  OF  LAW, 
AND  SPECIAL  INTERPOSITIONS  OF 
PROVIDENCE  TO  DESTROY  OR  TO  PRE- 
SERVE DO  NOT  OCCUR.  NEVERTHE- 
LESS, HIS  PLAN  ORDAINED  THAT  MAN 
SHOULD  BE  THE  HIGHEST  CREATURE 
OF  EARTH  AND  THAT  FROM  THE  BE- 
GINNING HE  SHOULD  GRADUALLY 
RISE  SPIRITUALLY  FROM  ANIMALISM 
TOWARDS  THE  IDEAL. 


The  conclusion  of  this  panel  was  another  of 
the  anticipations  of  later  Degrees,  and  Mildred 
Thatcher  read  the  last  sentence  with  deepening 
consciousness  that  vital  spirituality  was  appear- 
ing in  God 's  Plan  as  denned  by  the  Society. 

The  next  panel  greatly  interested  the  college 
graduate  who  had  often  heard  against  construc- 
tive evolutionists  who  contend  that  ultimate  truth 
finds  "purposive  goodness"  in  the  Cosmic  Plan, 
the  materialistic  sneer  that  terrestrial  evolution 
finds  the  triumph  of  " tooth  and  claw"  and  "brute 
force  "  in  a  perpetual  charnel  house. 


190  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


III.  EVOLVING  THE  HIGHER  TYPES 

A  great  law  of  evolution  expressed  by 
Herbert  Spencer  is  that  the  general  trend  of 
all  Evolution  is  "from  the  relatively  simple 
to  the  relatively  complex,"  and  Darwin's 
great  discovery  that  the  fittest  forms  of  life 
prevail  and  survive  in  the  evolutionary  strug- 
gle, environment  always  considered,  adds  mo- 
mentous weight  to  the  import  of  the  Cosmic 
Process. 

*      *      * 

When  we  find,  as  in  utter  truth  we  must 
eventually,  that  the  supreme  object  of  terres- 
trial evolution  is  the  constant  development  of 
higher  spirituality  in  man,  mere  physical  life 
becomes  subordinate. 


Science,  however,  must  value  the  fact  that 
much  physical  life  feeds  and  progresses  on 
the  destruction  of  other  forms  of  life. 

Man,  as  an  animal,  always  has  been  and 
always  must  be  in  unceasing  warfare  with 
certain  forms  of  life.  His  survival  as  a  race 
depends  upon  successful  battles  against  liv- 
ing germs  and  often  against  higher  animal 
organisms.  Life  also  constantly  yields  him 

food. 

*      *      * 


CHAMBER  OF  PRIMEVAL  LIFE      191 


A  process  which  constantly  evolved 
higher  types  of  animal  organisms,  many  of 
which  can  live  at  peace  with  man  and  which 
at  the  same  time  since  man  evolved  has  per- 
sistently advanced  him  spiritually,  has  in  its 
ultimate  depths  an  import  which  makes  it 
futile  to  call  it  a  process  of  "brute  force" 
revelling  in  the  blood  of  its  creatures. 

*      *      * 

The  same  process  which  evolved  the  shark 
and  the  tiger  evolved  the  gigantic  beautiful 
redwood  trees  of  California,  perhaps  the  old- 
est types  of  individual  life,  and  evolved  the 
wild  rose  and  the  butterfly.  So,  too,  it 
evolved  the  highest  spiritual  types  of  men 
and  women. 

***  *t*  *K 

VALUE  THE  ULTIMATE  AND  IT 
WILL  BE  REVEALED  THAT  GOD'S 
PLAN  EVIDENCES  "PURPOSIVE  GOOD- 
NESS," THOUGH  IT  SEEMINGLY  RE- 
GARDS INDIVIDUAL  PHYSICAL  LIFE 
OF  MANY  OF  THE  CREATURES  OF 
EARTH  AS  SACRIFICIAL  TO  THE  EVO- 
LUTION AND  SURVIVAL  OF  OTHER 
FORMS  OF  LIFE. 


192  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Mildred  Thatcher  lingered  long  over  her  seven 
readings  of  this  panel  and,  having  obtained  per- 
mission from  her  guide,  was  engaged  in  copying 
it,  when  she  was  startled  by  a  voice  suddenly  in- 
quiring : 

"Didn't  they  teach  you  that  at  Stanford?" 

Turning  quickly,  she  found  Mat  Cowley  smil- 
ing down  upon  her.  Her  reply  came  slowly: 

"I  think  our  Colleges  are  reluctant  to  deduce 
and  teach  ultimate  truths.  Though  every  student 
should  be  taught  both  the  principles  of  General 
Cosmic  Evolution,  including  Mental  and  Spiritual 
Evolution,  and  the  import  of  all  evolution,  most 
students  do  not  receive  such  instruction,  particu- 
larly those  who  specialize  in  some  single  field  of 
learning. ' ' 

Then  she  added: 

"I  am  eager  to  have  the  promises  of  the  So- 
ciety fulfilled,  for  I  have  not  had  spiritual  rest 
for  several  years." 

Her  companion  of  the  struggle  in  the  great  Salt 
Sea,  looking  deeply  into  her  eyes,  softly  made 
answer: 

"I  am  sure  you  will  find  spiritual  rest,  for 
many  of  us  have  traveled  the  road  happily  to  find 
at  the  end  higher  ideals  than  we  dared  hope  in  the 
beginning." 

With  Mat  at  her  side,  the  girl  turned  to  the  last 
panel  in  the  "Alcove  of  the  Four  Panels,"  as  it 
was  called,  and  found  a  vital  denunciation  of 
Genesis. 


CHAMBEK  OF  PRIMEVAL  LIFE      193 


IV.    LIFE   FORMS   EVOLVE   AND  ARE 
NOT  SEPARATE  CREATIONS. 

Though  Genesis  asserts  a  sequence  of  Cre- 
ative Acts  of  God  through  six  days,  Science 
finds  the  truth  at  variance  with  the  whole 
story. 

Genesis  would  have  it  that  before  the  sun, 
moon  and  stars  were  created  on  the  fourth 
day  and  were  set  in  the  firmament  "to  divide 
the  day  from  the  night"  and  "for  signs,  and 
for  seasons,  and  for  days  and  years"  that  the 
earth,  upon  the  third  day,  "brought  forth 
grass  and  herb-yielding  fruit." 

Genesis  asserts,  also,  that  it  was  upon  the 
fifth  day  of  Creation  that  God  said,  "Let  the 
waters  bring  forth  abundantly  the  moving 
creature  that  hath  life  and  fowl  that  may  fly 
above  the  earth  in  the  open  firmament  of 
heaven." 

And  upon  the  sixth  day,  besides  man, 
"God  made  the  beast  of  the  earth  after  his 
kind  and  cattle  after  their  kind  and  every- 
thing that  creepeth  upon  the  earth  after  his 
kind." 

»(C  *f»  3JC 


194  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


Science  from  God's  true  book,  while  deny- 
ing utterly  the  Astronomy  as  childlike  ab- 
surdity, discloses  revelations  which  demon- 
strate that  all  existing  species  of  life  have 
evolved  from  the  simple  primitive  forms 
which  themselves  probably  evolved  when  the 
earth  cooled,  and  that  the  process  has  taken 
millions  of  years,  and  that  both  in  the  vegeta- 
ble and  in  the  animal  kingdoms  the  sequence 
of  evolved  species  bears  no  shadow  of  verity 
to  the  tale  of  Genesis. 


THE  BIBLE  CAN  NOT  BE  GOD'S 
BOOK,  BECAUSE  IT  IS  NOT  TRUE.  IT 
ASCRIBES  TO  GOD  ACTS  AND  CONDUCT 
FROM  WHICH  YOU  MUST  SHRINK  IN 
ABHORRENCE  OR  YOU  ARE  MORALLY 
DEBASED.  AWAIT  THE  SOUL-SEARCH- 
ING QUESTIONS  OF  A  LATER  DE- 
GREE TO  DETERMINE  WHETHER  YOUR 
SOUL'S  REVOLT  DEMANDS  A  BETTER 
GOD  THAN  THE  GOD  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


Mildred  turned  to  Mat  Cowley,  who  had  lin- 
gered at  her  side,  and  said: 

"I  suppose  it  is  true  that  most  Mormons  are 
unquestioning  in  their  faith  in  the  Bible  as  the 
very  word  of  God  and  they  believe  in  sincerity 
that  the  representations  of  the  Bible  and  the  Book 
of  Mormon  about  what  God  said  and  did  and  di- 
rected are  all  true. 

But  are  the  Mormons  worse  than  the  Meth- 
odists or  other  Christian  Cults  in  this  respect? 

I  wish  the  Society  of  Progress  could  invade 
the  strongholds  of  Buddhism  and  Mohammedism 
and  Catholicism  and  Methodism  and  all  the  other 
1 '  isms ' '  of  the  world  to  reveal  the  actual  truth.  If 
the  conclusions  and  import  of  the  Society's  in- 
struction are  what  I  anticipate,  there  will  be  a  true 
religion  for  all  the  world  to  accept." 

Her  companion,  replying,  said: 

"Can  there  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Naz- 
areth! 

"Is  it  possible  that  the  great  plan  of  our  Be- 
loved Philosopher  to  redeem  Mormondom  from  a 
slavish  spiritual  faith  will  expand  to  redeem  all 
the  world? 

' '  The  Seven  have  dreamed  of  this. 

*  *  I  can  pledge  to  you  that  the  final  degrees  will 
disclose  a  scientific  faith  founded  on  all  the  veri- 
ties, and  these  early  degrees,  which  are  "Breaking 
the  idols"  of  old  faiths,  are  merely  leading  up  to 
the  building  of  the  better  faith." 

Then,  through  a  lovely  cerulean-tinted  door, 
Mildred  entered  the  Chamber  of  Primeval  Life,  to 
find  it  brilliant  with  light  and  resembling  a  zoolog- 
ical museum  in  some  respects. 


196  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Waldemar  Grant  was  the  member  of  the  Seven 
to  whom  the  instruction  of  this  degree  was  dele- 
gated and,  to  the  disciples  there  assembled  in  the 
Chamber,  he  began  the  lessons  of  the  Chamber  in 
the  words  of  the  Beloved  Philosopher. 

* '  The  evolution  of  life  upon  our  planet  is  pro- 
foundly significant.  The  progress  of  life  forms  on 
earth,  from  the  beginning  until  the  creature  of  su- 
perior and  dominant  intelligence  evolved,  being 
always  under  the  sway  of  general  cosmic  laws, 
evidences  some  great  fact. 

"The  Infinite  First  Cause  chooses  to  act 
through  the  Process  of  which  Evolution  is  the  un- 
folding and  if  the  original  diatoms  could  have 
glimpsed  with  rational  intelligence  the  evolution 
of  Man  down  the  intervening  millions  of  years 
they  surely  would  have  felt  the  premonition  of  a 
' far-off  divine  event,'  not  the  ultimate  one,  but  one 
which  marked  a  pinnacle  of  terrestrial  organic 
evolution. 

"From  the  earliest  forms  of  life  in  long  de- 
scent came  Man  as  an  animal.  What  of  his  Intelli- 
gence and  Soul?  The  physical  is  marvelous,  but 
rationality  and  spirituality  are  immeasurably 

more. 

*  *      * 

'  *  Time,  in  working  out  the  Divine  Plan  for  our 
earth,  seems  strangely  immaterial,  for  the  ages 
from  the  evolution  of  the  first  life  down  to  the 
evolution  of  Man  are  vast.  The  'Everlasting 

Now'  of  the  Infinite  disregards  mere  centuries." 

#  *      * 

"Would  you  like  to  learn  what  Science  has 
spelled  out  about  the  earliest  life  upon  our  globe  ? 


CHAMBER  OF  PRIMEVAL  LIFE      197 

* '  The  earlier  part  of  Archaean  time  was  neces- 
sarily without  life;  for  until  the  rocks  and  seas 
had  cooled  down  to  the  temperature  of  boiling 
water  (or  lower),  life  was  hardly  possible. 

"Plants  of  the  lowest  orders  can  bear  a  higher 
temperature  than  the  lowest  of  animals  and  were 
possibly  the  first  living  species,  although  certain 
honest  scientists  believe  that  single-cell  animal  life 
first  evolved. 

" These  plants  probably  were  'mere  tiny  green 
jelly  specks  floating  freely  in  water  invisible  to 
the  unaided  human  eye  but  revealed  by  powerful 
microscopes.'  They  were  probably  the  original 
single-cell  life  of  our  globe,  and  the  lowest  and 
original  form  of  animal  life  is  scientifically  and 
rationally  believed,  through  the  Law  of  Variation 
and  the  Struggle  for  Life,  to  have  come  into  exist- 
ence by  descent  from  the  earlier  forms  of  plant 
life.'  Aggregations  of  living  cells  soon  made 
many  life  species. 

"Whenever  the  earliest  life-cell,  however  mi- 
nute, evolved  or  was  created,  a  new  principle — 
that  of  life — was  introduced  upon  the  earth,  and 
thereafter  progress  in  a  system  of  living  things 
became  a  vital  and  potential  factor  in  world  his- 
tory." 

»      *      * 

The  instructor  then  displayed  upon  a  screen 
magnified  reproductions  of  various  forms  of 
simple  cell-life  and  amongst  them  a  segment  of 
the  famous  polishing  slate  of  Bilin  in  Bohemia, 
which  consists  of  flinty  Protozoan  shells,  so  minute 
that  a  cubic  inch  of  the  rock  created  from  the 
single-cell  creatures  has  been  estimated  to  contain 


198  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

forty  millions  of  the  shells.  Then  he  told  of  the 
innumerable  myriads  of  living  creatures  which  in 
death  created  enormous  beds  of  lime  stone  and  of 
chalk. 

In  rapid  review  the  disciples  were  led  through 
the  vast  geological  periods  which  have  been 
termed  the  Age  of  Invertebrates,  the  fossil  illus- 
trations showing  the  progress  and  increasing 
complexity  of  the  living  organisms  as  the  evolu- 
tionary laws  asserted  potent  sway  upon  the 

abounding  life  of  the  seas,  both  plant  and  animal. 

*  *       * 

Then,  sometime  and  somewhere,  during  the  un- 
written history  of  life,  the  early  fishes,  the  first 
vertebrates,  evolved,  and  sometime  and  some- 
where certain  reptiles  of  the  sea  found  refuge 
from  enemies  of  the  sea  by  evolving  organisms 
which  enabled  them  to  live  partly  on  land  as  well 
as  in  the  water,  and  sometime  and  somewhere 
plants  began  to  creep  upon  the  ancient  rocks  above 
the  sea  level,  and  sometime  and  somewhere  flying 
birdlike  animals  evolved  and  then  birds  began 
their  far  descent  to  the  winged  creatures  of  our 

skies. 

*  *      # 

In  vivid  illustration  the  instruction  displayed 
and  told  of  all  the  progress  of  life,  plant  and  ani- 
mal ;  how  in  the  seas  there  evolved  huge  fishes  and 
on  land  animals  of  enormous  size,  as  well  as  trees 
and  plants  so  abundant  and  luxuriant  in  growth 
as  to  make  in  their  death  the  vast  coal  beds  of  the 
world. 

Genera  and  species  in  vast  array  were  shown 
to  connect  through  organisms  and  vestiges  with 


CHAMBER  OF  PRIMEVAL  LIFE      199 

antecedent  life  of  simpler  forms.    Species  became 

wholly  extinct  and  new  species  ever  evolved. 

*  *       * 

Binding  the  history  of  primeval  life  with 
geological  history ;  telling  of  great  changes  of  cli- 
mate, of  vast  upheavals  of  land  above  the  seas  and 
vast  recessions  of  land  beneath  the  waters,  and  of 
the  garnering  and  preservation  by  Nature  of  the 
scientifically,  inestimably  valuable  fossils  in  the 
rocks  of  the  different  geological  periods,  so  that 
he  who  faithfully  studies  can  truly  read  many  of 
God's  sure  revelations,  the  instruction  at  last 
brought  the  chain  of  life  through  myriads  of  years 

down  to  the  animal  ancestor  of  the  human  race. 

*  *       * 

Then  came  the  close  of  the  instruction  wherein 
the  Society  promised  the  disciples  that  in  the  next 
degree  the  physical  descent  of  man  from  the  life 
of  the  Archaean  seas  would  be  established  by 
proofs  which  rationality  must  admit. 

The  closing  words  evidenced  the  mental  hon- 
esty which  characterized  the  degree  work  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Beloved  Philosopher. 

'  *  There  are  scientists  who,  in  seeking  the  ulti- 
mate realities,  contend  that  all  being  (matter, 
force,  life,  consciousness,  and  spirituality)  is  one, 
but,  alas,  most  of  them  value  lightly  the  moral 
import  of  Cosmic  Evolution  and  become  hopeless 
of  immortality  of  the  spirit  of  man. 

"They  see  law  controlling  the  processes  of  the 
Universe  and  are  loth  to  find  in  man  a  spirit  which 
has  freedom  in  its  choice  of  actions. 

"They  gaze  upon  the  material  universe  until 
the  greater  and  higher  life,  the  spiritual,  is  clouded 


200  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

in  their  vision  by  the  universality  of  law  which  in 
verity  extends  also  to  the  psychical  and  the  spirit- 
ual, not  as  absolutely  dominating,  but  as  impell- 
ing. 

"The  Society  of  Progress  in  viewing  all  things 
material,  psychic,  and  spiritual,  finds  great  unity 
in  everything,  but  also  finds  the  spiritual  dominat- 
ing in  God's  Plan. 

"WITH  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  MAN  THE 

EARTH  BEGAN  ITS  HIGHER  DESTINY." 

*      *      * 

It  chanced  that  as  the  lecture  closed  Mildred 
Thatcher  and  Mat  Cowley  occupied  a  settee  which 
was  at  the  side  of  the  Chamber,  and  they  remained 
chatting  while  the  other  disciples  went  out  of  the 
doors. 

Suddenly  the  electric  lights  were  shut  off  and 
Mat  sought  vainly  for  matches  to  light  their  way 
across  the  hall. 

Confessing  his  inability,  he  suggested  that 
they  should  grope  their  way  hand  in  hand  in  the 
utter  darkness  which  somehow  became  vibrant  to 
each  of  the  pair  with  a  sense  of  heart  stimulus. 

When  Mildred's  slim  fingers  grasped  Mat's  he 
thrilled  with  longing  to  have  her  in  his  arms  and, 
when  suddenly  the  girl's  free  hand  encountered 
the  sharp  teeth  in  the  murderous  jaws  of  a  huge 
prehistoric  shark  and  she  gave  a  shriek  and 
jumped  backward,  Mat  literally  found  her  in  his 
arms  in  gasping,  unreasoning  fright. 

Holding  her  close,  he  murmured: 

"My  heart's  desire,  won't  you  make  my  arms 
your  refuge  during  all  your  life?  I  love  you,  Mil- 


CHAMBER  OF  PRIMEVAL  LIFE      201 

dred,  beyond  the  power  of  any  words  to  express. 
Will  you  be  my  wife,  sweet  girl?" 

Around  his  neck  in  the  darkness  stole  the  arms 
which  had  charmed  him  when  the  Lady  Bonne- 
ville's  search  light  had  revealed  their  grace,  and 
a  sweet  mouth  met  his  in  a  true  lover's  kiss  as 
Mildred  whispered: 

"Oh,  Mat.  You  have  made  me  so  happy.  I 
loved  you  before  I  saw  your  face.  You  were  so 
noble  in  the  hard  hours  when  we  fought  the  storm 
and  I  will  be  proud  to  be  your  wife. ' ' 

In  the  midst  of  some  further  proceedings,  quite 
electrical,  no  doubt,  the  lights  suddenly  sprang 
out,  filling  the  Chamber  and  revealing  Waldemar 
Grant,  who  had  returned  for  a  book  he  had  left. 

"Well,  folks,  this  looks  all  right  to  me;  shall  I 
congratulate  you?" 

Their  happy  reply  brought  him  forward  with 
outstretched  hands,  but  he  was  a  little  mystified 
to  see  Mildred  turn  suddenly  and  step  up  to  a  most 
vicious  looking  shark  and  deliberately  kiss  its 
ominous  opened  jaw. 

But  Mat  understood  and  blest  the  Chamber  of 
Primeval  Life  for  bringing  his  happiness  as  the 
Romance  of  the  Fourth  Degree. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  FIFTH  DEGREE. 

MAHONRI  TAYLOR,  universally  known 
among  Ms  friends  as  "Hon,"  had  gone 
to  Southern  California  in  December,  1935, 
to  seek  full  recovery  from  an  attack  of  the  grippe. 
The  approaching  holidays  would  temporarily 
slacken  the  great  tide  of  disciples  through  the 
Chambers  of  the  Society  of  Progress  and  the  rest 
of  the  Seven  had  urged  Hon  to  take  the  vacation. 

The  huge  merry-go-round  at  Long  Beach  was 
whirling  to  the  shrill,  joyous  music  which  always 
gathers  a  crowd  of  spectators  and  expectant  riders 
of  the  fiery  steeds  and  rampant  animals  which 
tempt  the  courage  of  little  folks,  and,  it  must  be 
confessed,  have  secret  charms  for  grown  ups. 

As  Hon  Taylor  strolled  down  the  avenue  of 
shops  and  amusements  which  borders  the  bathing 
beach,  he  casually  noted  three  young  women 
standing  at  the  entrance  to  the  pavilion  from 
which  the  music  proceeded.  His  attention  was 
temporarily  fixed  upon  the  group  when  he  heard 
one  of  the  trio  remark : 

"I'll  bet  you  the  popcorn  that  you  dare  not 
ride  the  camel." 

Hon  listlessly  turned  to  note  the  acceptance  or 
rejection  of  the  "dare,"  when,  as  if  electrified,  his 
languid  air  gave  place  to  one  of  keen  interest. 

"  I  '11  accept  the  wager  if  you  will  ride  the  lion 
alongside."  The  girl  who  replied  was  clad  in  a 

202 


ROMANCE   OF  FIFTH  DEGREE      203 

white  linen  suit,  with  a  fascinating  Panama  hat 
trimmed  with  cardinal  ribbons,  but  it  was  not  her 
attire  which  made  sudden  appeal  to  the  young  man 
who  had  roamed  the  environs  of  the  beach  with 
scarce  a  glance  at  the  many  attractive  girls  always 
to  be  found  amongst  the  pleasure  seekers. 

The  face  beneath  the  hat  charmed  him  in- 
stantly and  the  form  was  no  less  attractive. 

Following  the  trio  into  the  pavilion,  he  sta- 
tioned himself  unobtrusively  at  one  side  of  the 
huge  machine  and  quietly  watched  the  mounting 
of  the  wild  beasts  by  the  two  girls,  and  heard  their 
gay  banter  and  laughter  as  the  revolving  stage 
brought  them  repeatedly  past  his  station. 

It  was  with  a  sense  of  re-enacting  some  pre- 
vious experience  that  the  young  man,  found  the 
machine  stopped  with  the  two  girls  directly  in 
front  of  him,  and  when  the  fair  form  in  white  was 
suddenly  precipitated  into  his  arms  by  a  high  heel 
catching  upon  the  edge  of  the  machine,  Hon  felt 
new  and  strange  emotions  as  he  staggeringly 
upheld  the  delightful  burden  for  the  little  time 
necessary  to  restore  the  girl  to  blushing  erectness. 

With  a  hurried  "thank  you,"  the  girl  hastened 
to  join  her  laughing  companions  and  the  day 
dulled  down  again  for  the  young  man,  though  his 
blood  coursed  more  freely  as  he  thought  of  the 
little  incident. 

Two  days  later,  while  walking  down  the  fine 
beach  promenade  between  the  pier  at  Ocean  Park 
and  the  one  at  Venice,  a  sudden  gust  of  wind  blew 
an  opened  umbrella  direct  into  Hon's  arms,  in- 
stinctively raised  to  ward  off  danger. 


204  THE  HUNDBEDTH  WAVE 

Looking  to  see  from  whence  the  missile  came, 
he  was  actually  thrilled  to  find  the  "fair  maid  of 
the  merry-go-round,"  as  he  had  secretly  dubbed 
her,  looking  oip  at  him  from  a  seat  amidst  the 
sands.  Hastening  to  restore  the  umbrella,  he 
found  himself  greeted  with  a  smile  which  fasci- 
nated him  and  a  greeting  which  seemed  promising. 

"I'm  glad  that  you  were  not  hurt  by  my  flying 
umbrella.  It  seems  as  though  you  were  fated  to 
rescue  me  and  my  belongings.  I  thank  you  again 
for  the  two  rescues.  I  am  waiting  for  some  be- 
lated friends. ' ' 

This  little  speech  seemed  to  the  young  man 
almost  to  invite  a  bantering  response  which  might 
lead  to  some  way  of  becoming  acquainted,  but 
scarce  had  he  murmured  a  disavowal  of  any  obli- 
gation on  her  part  ere  he  found  himself  lifting  his 
hat  as  the  expected  friends  came  up  to  the  girl. 

It  was  for  Saturday  night  that  Hon  had 
planned  a  solitary  dinner  at  the  cafe  with  the  sign 
of  a  fish,  presided  over  by  the  two  fine  old  gentle- 
men whose  famous  fish  and  chicken  dinners  have 
made  many  travelers  resort  again  and  again  to 
Kedondo  Beach. 

He  had  not  attempted  to  look  up  friends,  as  he 
felt  that  he  would  better  avoid  any  social  burdens 
while  regaining  strength. 

Before  dinner,  wandering  out  on  the  pier, 
where  there  are  always  tourist  fishermen  or 
women  casting  their  lines  into  the  well-populated 
ocean  below,  he  idly  strolled  up  to  the  vicinity  of 
a  small  boy,  who  was  fishing  alongside  an  excur- 
sion steamer  which  was  about  to  depart  on  its 


ROMANCE   OF   FIFTH   DEGREE      205 

usual  tour  northward  to  the  other  beaches  which 
lie  west  of  Los  Angeles. 

Hon  Taylor  was  also  close  to  the  gang  plank, 
at  which  sailors  were  already  stationed  to  draw  it 
on  board  the  ship,  when  destiny  began  to  get  busy 
again  with  the  affairs  of  the  young  man  and  Jose- 
phine Penrose,  "the  fair  maid  of  the  merry-go- 
round.  ' ' 

So  rapidly  did  things  move  that  Hon  scarcely 
appreciated  the  humorous  aspects  of  the  comedy 
until  later,  when,  seated  at  the  table  he  surprised 
one  of  the  nice  old  gentlemen  by  bursting  into 
laughter. 

Just  as  Hon  heard  rapid  footsteps  close  at 
hand  on  the  pier  the  small  boy  jerked  back  his 
fishing  rod  in  such  awkward  fashion  as  to  catch 
the  unwitting  feet  of  Josephine  Penrose,  who  was 
hastening  to  board  the  boat  upon  which  her 
friends  were  beckoning  her  to  hurry. 

As  Hon  turned  to  observe  the  belated  comer, 
the  fateful  fishpole  precipitated  Josephine  directly 
at  him,  as  though  his  good  fairy  had  determined 
to  place  her  in  his  arms. 

The  unexpected  onslaught  might  have  thrown 
them  both  into  the  ocean,  had  not  the  young  man 
instantly  cast  one  arm  around  a  belaying  post, 
while  with  the  other  he  upheld  the  gasping  girl. 

'  *  Oh,  Lordy.   You  again. ' ' 

"Hurry  up,  miss ;  we  can't  wait." 

And  Josephine  was  gone  once  more,  leaving 
Hon  on  the  pier,  wondering  whether  he  would  ever 
see  her  again.  Each  previous  meeting  had  been 
sheer  chance  and  he  wondered  how  soon  chance 
would  quit  its  strange  job  of  flinging  them  mo- 


206          THE  HUNDBEDTH  WAVE 

mentarily  into  each  other 's  presence  and  then  sud- 
denly separating  them. 

But  the  final  answer  was  not  yet  given. 

A  week  later,  on  Catalina  Island,  after  three 
days  of  resting  and  rapidly  gaining  strength  at 
that  wonderful  resort,  he  again  saw  the  girl  who 
had  interested  him  so  greatly.  But  he  wasn't 
aware  that  it  was  she  when  he  first  noted  a  fem- 
inine form  stretched  out  on  a  jutting  shelf  of  rock 
at  the  northerly  horn  of  the  beautiful  crescent  of 
Avalon  Bay. 

He  had  seated  himself  on  a  nearby  boulder, 
wholly  unaware  of  the  proximity  of  any  other  per- 
son and,  becoming  absorbed  in  a  book,  was  quite 
oblivious  to  his  surroundings. 

Suddenly  three  shrill  whistles  of  a  launch 
caused  him  to  look  up  and  he  saw  the  skipper  wav- 
ing his  arms  and  apparently  pointing  to  some- 
thing back  of  the  onlooker.  Turning  hastily,  he 
saw  that  the  rising  tide  had  already  covered  the 
narrow  causeway  which  connected  the  broad  shelf 
of  rock  on  which  he  stood  with  the  mainland.  At 
the  same  time  he  noted  the  prostrate  form  of  a 
young  woman  lying  in  the  shade  of  a  boulder  with 
the  advancing  tide  almost  reaching  the  spot  where 
she  was  outstretched. 

Surmising  that  the  girl  had  fallen  asleep,  he 
rapidly  strode  the  few  steps  to  her  side  and,  reach- 
ing down,  gently  shook  the  sleeper,  with  the  result 
that  he  nearly  tumbled  backward  into  the  ocean, 
when  the  startled  face  of  the  "fair  maid  of  the 
merry-go-round"  looked  up  into  his. 

"Pardon  me,  but  we  must  act  instantly.  The 
tide  has  already  made  it  impossible  to  get  to  land 


EOMANCE   OF  FIFTH  DEGREE      207 

dry  shod  and  as  I  seem  born  to  be  of  assistance 
to  you  I  suggest  that  you  let  me  carry  you  across 
the  causeway." 

The  girl  had  sprung  to  her  feet  and  stood  gaz- 
ing bewilderedly,  first  at  the  young  man  who  had 
awakened  her  and  then  at  the  water  which  cut  off 
her  retreat  to  shore.  As  if  in  a  dream  from  which 
she  could  not  awaken,  she  said: 

"You  have  no  right  to  pursue  me  this  way.  I 
don 't  see  how  you  planned  this,  but  I  will  stay  here 
until  the  tide  turns  rather  than  always  be  rescued 
by  you." 

Then  Hon,  with  some  resentment,  replied : 

"It  happens  that  I  was  not  aware  that  you  had 
survived  your  steamship  trip  from  Bedondo.  It 
was  there  I  saw  you  last,  but  if  you  don't  care  to 
get  uncomfortably  wet,  you  would  better  accept 
my  offer.  The  tide  will  soon  cover  this  rock 
entirely. ' ' 

Josephine  looked  hurriedly  at  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  rising  water  and  ruefully  at  her 
dainty  shoes  and  silken  hose,  then  finding  the 
young  man  looking  at  her  with  apparent  impa- 
tience, she  reluctantly  answered: 

"Well,  I  won't  be  rescued  again.  It  is  getting 
to  be  too  much  of  a  fixed  habit.  You  go  ahead  and 
I'll  follow." 

Without  answer,  the  young  man  turned  his 
back  to  his  companion  and  strode  through  water, 
now  knee  deep  on  the  causeway,  keenly  conscious 
of  dainty  lingerie  high  uplifted,  pretty  shoes 
ruined  and  a  splashing,  uncomfortable  girl,  al- 
though he  did  not  have  eyes  in  the  back  of  his  head 
to  actually  observe  it. 


208  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

When  he  knew  the  young  woman  had  reached 
terra  firma,  he  turned  and,  while  lifting  his  hat, 
said: 

"I  am  sorry  that  chance  has  made  us  half -ene- 
mies ;  I  would  much  rather  be  your  friend,  but  as 
it  is  I  bid  you  good  by  and  hope  the  wetting  you 
could  have  avoided  will  do  you  no  harm." 

Giving  the  girl  no  chance  to  reply  he  strode 
away,  unaware  that  his  companion  gazed  after 
him  as  if  wishing  to  apologize  for  something. 

Another  week  at  Avalon  failed  to  bring  to  Hon 
any  glimpse  of  the  "maid  of  the  merry-go-round. " 
With  a  species  of  jealous  resentment,  he  dropped 
the  adjective  "fair,"  but  could  not  get  the  girl 
herself  out  of  his  thoughts. 

Then  one  January  day,  quite  restored  to 
health,  he  boarded  the  Los  Angeles  Limited  at  the 
"City  of  the  Angels"  and,  strolling  back  to  the 
observation  car,  was  delighted  to  find  Zora  Wells 
occupying  a  stool  on  the  rear  platform,  and  they 
chatted  happily  of  their  friends  as  the  train  sped 
through  the  fine  truck  gardens  and  past  the  multi- 
tude of  serried  rows  of  English  walnut,  orange 
and  lemon  trees. 

Hon's  back  was  towards  the  door  of  the  car 
and  his  interest  riveted  on  his  friend  and  the  beau- 
tiful landscape,  when  Zora  sprang  to  her  feet,  with 
outstretched  hands,  crying : 

"Well — Josephine  Penrose,  where  on  earth  did 
you  come  from?" 

As  Hon  rose  to  his  feet,  he  turned  and  found 
himself  looking  with  amazement  equaled  only  by 
the  astonished  look  of  the  "half -enemy"  he  had 
last  seen  bedraggled  on  the  rocks  at  Avalon. 


ROMANCE  OF  FIFTH  DEGREE       209 

"Mr.  Taylor,  you  surely  have  met  Miss  Jose- 
phine Penrose.    Why,  I  believe  you  are  not  ac- 
quainted. ' ' 
Hon  spoke  first  and  quickly: 

"I  hope  Miss  Penrose  is  as  glad  to  be  intro- 
duced to  me  as  I  am  to  her, ' '  and  a  sudden  smile 
on  the  face  of  Josephine  and  her  outstretched 
hand  rewarded  him  for  his  tactful  way  of  meeting 
the  situation.  Zora  Wells  scented  a  mystery,  but 
discreetly  said  nothing. 

She  contrived  later  to  let  Hon  know  that  Jose- 
phine was  a  great  granddaughter  of  a  Mormon 
apostle,  who  early  in  the  century  had  been  espe- 
cially adroit  as  editor  of  the  church  newspaper  in 
"humbugging"  unposted  Gentiles  by  disclaimers 
that  the  church  dominated  in  affairs  of  state  and 
in  denying  the  actual  recrudescence  of  polygamy. 

Zora  was  also  able  to  especially  interest  the 
young  man  with  information  that  Josephine  was 
an  orphan  and  had  lived  in  Los  Angeles  from 
childhood  with  a  sister  of  her  mother's,  who  was 
a  Theosophist,  and  that  the  girl  intended  spending 
several  months  in  Salt  Lake  at  the  home  of  a  mar- 
ried brother,  who  was  not  affiliated  with  any 
church. 

Was  it  strictly  fair  that  Hon  Taylor  did  not 
then  inform  Zora  that  Talmadge  Penrose  had  be- 
come an  enthusiastic  disciple  of  the  Society  of 
Progress?  Did  Hon  build  any  of  Cupid's  air  cas- 
tles out  of  this  suppressed  knowledge! 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  FIFTH  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF  MAN. 

IT  WAS  certainly  not  as  a  "  half  -enemy"  that 
Hon  Taylor  parted  with  Josephine  Penrose 
at  Salt  Lake  City  under  granted  request  that 
he  might  call  on  her  soon. 

Ere  long  it  was  noticeable  to  her  brother  that 
amongst  the  young  cavaliers  who  courted  the 
fair  maid  from  the  City  of  Angels  none  other 
evoked  the  sweet,  shy  welcome  which  was  given 
to  Hon  Taylor;  while,  as  for  Hon,  he  interpreted 
the  girl's  diffidence  as  not  at  all  favorable  to  his 
now  well-developed  wish  to  gain  the  right  to  take 
her  into  his  arms,  not  by  chance,  but  as  his  very 
own. 

Talmadge  Penrose  cherished  a  strong  desire 
to  have  his  sister  become  a  disciple  of  the  Society 
of  Progress,  and  after  preparing  her  for  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Society,  was  delighted  to  have  her  ask 
to  take  the  Degrees. 

It  was  Josephine's  request  that  Hon  Taylor 
should  not  know  of  her  initiation,  and  she  even 
passed  the  Third  Degree  with  a  number  of  others 
without  the  instructor  becoming  aware  that  the 
''fair  maid  of  the  merry-go-round"  was  listening 
to  his  voice. 

But  in  the  Fifth  Degree  chance  again  began 
playing  its  pranks  with  the  fate  of  these  two. 

Josephine  entered  the  door  of  the  "Chamber 
of  Man,"  accompanying  Zora  Wells. 

210 


THE   CHAMBER   OF   MAN  211 

The  usual  tall,  graceful  entrance  gate  of  the 
degrees  in  this  instance  led  through  long,  heavily 
draped  curtains  into  an  alcove,  which  was  called 
by  the  Seven  "The  Alcove  of  Dawn"  for  reasons 
which  interlinked  the  rosy  dawn-colored  walls  and 
ceilings  with  the  more  subtle  idea  of  the  dawn 
of  the  life  of  humanity  appearing  in  this  degree. 

The  panels  of  the  Alcove  of  Dawn  contrasted 
a  deeper  rose  than  the  walls  with  borders  of  a 
pure  white  in  intricate  fine-lined  arabesques  and 
letters  of  white  also. 

Josephine  had  become  profoundly  impressed 
with  the  instruction  of  the  first  four  degrees,  and 
began  the  seven  readings  of  the  panels  with  eager- 
eyed  desire. 

Like  the  very  large  majority  of  girls  and 
almost  an  equal  majority  of  young  men  who  are 
deemed  educated,  she  had  had  mere  glimpses  of 
the  sciences  and  scarcely  a  smattering  of  the 
truths  of  evolution. 

The  idea  of  the  unutterably  Grand  Unified 
Process,  the  Cosmic  Process,  and  its  wonderful 
unfolding  under  the  Reign  of  Cosmic  Laws  had 
impressed  her  deeply,  but  the  statement  that  the 
same  Process  had  given  man  his  origin  by  evolv- 
ing him  as  a  separate  species  of  animal  life  re- 
lated to  all  other  life  came  to  her  as  something 
worthy  of  deep  attention. 

The  first  panel  in  the  Alcove  of  Dawn  bore  di- 
rectly upon  the  physical  descent  of  man,  but 
hinted  at  a  higher  descent  which  animalism  can- 
not account  for. 


212  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


I.    MAN  NOT  DESCENDANT  OF  THE 
MONKEYS. 

Science  concludes  from  evidence  not  to  be 
doubted  that,  while  there  is  common  descent 
of  man  and  the  apes,  "Man  is  neither  the 
offspring  nor  the  brother  of  the  apes;  he  is 

a  sort  of  a  cousin  more  than  'once  removed.' 

*  *      * 

"And  the  answer  to  the  oft-put  question, 
where  is  the  missing  link?  is,  There  is  no 
missing  link;  there  never  has  been  one. 

"As  with  the  likenesses  and  differences 
between  the  apes  themselves,  so  with  those 
between  apes  and  man. 

"The  likenesses  are  explained  by  descent 
from  a  common  ancestry;  the  differences 
have  slowly  arisen  in  subtle  ways. 

"Although  the  bones  of  a  man  cannot  be 
mistaken  for  those  of  an  anthropoid  ape,  the 
skeleton  of  each,  bone  for  bone,  is  identical. 
Comparisons  of  structure  make  clear  that  all 
differences  are  of  degree,  not  of  kind. 

"The  lower  apes  vary  more,  especially  in 
their  brains,  from  the  highest  apes,  than 
these  differ  from  man." 

[Edward  Clodd.] 

*  *      * 


THE   CHAMBER   OF   MAN  213 


A  scientist  who  pondered  the  relation- 
ship between  Brain  and  Personality  has  said: 
"While  the  gap  between  the  brain  of  an  an- 
thropoid ape  and  the  brain  of  man  is  too  in- 
significant to  count,  their  difference  as  be- 
ings corresponds  to  the  distance  of  the  earth 
from  the  nearest  fixed  star." 

[William  Hanna  Thomson.] 

*      *      * 

THE  PHYSICAL  MAN  IS  AN  ANIMAL. 
WERE  IT  NOT  THAT  IN  HUMAN  PER- 
SONALITY SOMETHING  EVOLVED  FAR 
HIGHER  THAN  ANIMALISM  COSMIC 
EVOLUTION  WOULD  YIELD  TO  EARTH- 
LY BEINGS  NO  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF 
RIGHT  AND  WRONG,  NO  HUMAN 
DREAMS  OF  IMMORTALITY. 

HOWEVER  INTIMATELY  ASSOCI- 
ATED THE  HUMAN  BODY  IS  WITH  THE 
PERSONALITY  WHICH  USES  IT  ON 
EARTH,  THE  BODY  IS  ONLY  THE  MA- 
CHINE—PERSONALITY IS  SOMETHING 
TO  BE  VALUED  SUPREMELY. 


Josephine  Penrose,  like  all  other  initiates,  had 
read  the  first  panel  seven  times  with  absorbed  in- 
terest and,  as  did  all  others,  she  turned  with  eager- 
ness to  read  the  next. 


214  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

II.    THE  ASCENT  OF  MAN. 

Charles  Darwin's  great  work,  "The  De- 
scent of  Man,"  first  caused  orthodoxy  to 
shriek  anathemas  against  that  true  prophet 
of  Science;  then  some  theologians  of  the  or- 
thodox type  began  to  seek  Truth  whether  it 
conflicted  with  Scripture  or  not,  and  slowly 
the  false  teachings  of  orthodoxy  began  to 
yield  to  scientific  Truth.  Today  only  the 
most  blindly  bigoted  deny  Darwin's  discov- 
eries. 

*      *      * 

A  scientist  possessed  of  the  "Theological 
bias"  once  wrote  a  book  called,  "The  Ascent 
of  Man. ' '  It  properly  has  been  called, '  'pseu- 
doscientific,"  and  yet  Henry  Drummond's 
book  glimpsed  certain  great  spiritual  truths 
which  Darwin  had  expressly  excluded  from 
the  scope  of  his  monumental  work. 

Darwin  established  the  physical  lineage 
of  man — his  long  descent  from  the  original 
first  evolved  forms  of  life;  while  Drummond 
in  the  title  of  his  work  referred  to  the  evolu- 
tion of  spirituality  in  humanity.  Yet  it  must 
be  said  that  many  of  Drummond's  conclu- 
sions were  not  scientific. 


THE   CHAMBER   OF   MAN  215 


The  Society  of  Progress  seeks  the  truth, 
even  if  it  be  mixed  with  falsities. 

IT  ASSERTS  AS  FUNDAMENTAL 
THAT  THE  SPIRITUAL  PROGRESS  OF 
MANKIND  HAS  BEEN  A  GROWTH  TO- 
WARDS THE  IDEAL— AN  ASCENT  IN 
SPIRITUALITY.  IF  MAN  IS  TO  COM- 
PREHEND HIS  RACIAL  DESTINY  AND 
CONSCIOUSLY  ASSIST  IN  CARRYING 
OUT  GOD'S  PLAN  RESPECTING  FU- 
\  TURE  GENERATIONS,  IT  IS  HIGHLY 
ESSENTIAL  THAT  THE  MAJORITY  OF 
MANKIND  SHALL  BE  EDUCATED  TO 
KNOW  THE  TRUE  SPIRITUAL  HISTORY 
OF  THE  RACE. 


While  Mildred  Thatcher  was  receiving  the  in- 
struction in  the  Chamber  of  Man,  her  naturally 
constructive  mind  made  special  pause  over  the 
concluding  sentence  in  the  second  panel  of  the 
Alcove  of  Dawn,  and  afterwards,  in  discussing  this 
sentence  with  Mat  Cowley,  she  said: 

"If  it  is  essential  that  the  majority  shall  be 
educated  to  know  the  true  spiritual  history  of  the 
race,  will  it  not  soon  be  the  duty  of  the  Society  of 
Progress  to  take  up  this  work  by  world-wide  or- 
ganization?" 

It  was  then  that  Mat  told  her  that  on  the  fate- 
ful night  when  the  Beloved  Philosopher  revealed 
the  plan  of  the  Society,  he  had  suggested  that  be- 
yond the  duty  of  the  Seven  to  redeem  Mormondom 


216  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

lay  the  wider  duty  of  redeeming  the  whole  world 
from  other  religions  which  are  untrue  and  which 
delay  the  upward  course  of  humanity. 

But  when  Josephine  Penrose  read  the  same 
panel,  she  remarked  to  Zora  Wells,  who  accom- 
panied her: 

"Do  you  think  I  can  assist  in  any  way  in 
spreading  the  truth  ? ' ' 

Zora  smilingly  replied: 

"I  would  suggest  that  you  ask  Hon  Taylor 
that  question.  He  is  always  talking  of  a  World 
Society  of  Progress." 

The  hint  of  co-operation  with  Hon  was  enough 
to  bring  a  slight  blush  to  Josephine's  cheeks  and 
she  turned  hastily  to  read  the  Third  panel. 


III.         THE  HERITAGE  OF  MAN. 

As  an  animal,  Man  inherited  much  from 
his  animal  ancestry. 

His  physical  organism  with  its  appetites 
and  desires,  and  the  tremendous  call  which 
the  physical  makes  on  personality,  only 
partly  spells  the  animal  inheritance. 


Darwin  established  that  the  social  instinct 
and  impulses  came  to  the  earliest  of  our  race 
as  a  birthright  from  the  creatures  less  than 
Man,  from  whom  he  descended. 


THE   CHAMBER   OF   MAN  217 


It  is  more  than  probable  that  impulses 
which  became  ethical  as  soon  as  a  Human 
Personality  (the  first  being  of  earth  capable 
of  ethical  conduct)  came  upon  the  scene  of 
earthly  evolution  were  germinating  amongst 
some  of  the  animal  progenitors  of  Man; 
Mother  love  probably  was  an  instinct  before 
it  became  a  moral  power  in  the  spiritual  ad- 
vancement of  human  personality. 

But  whence  came  the  Soul  of  Man;  his 
psychic  and  spiritual  personality? 

Unquestionably  it  came  as  a  step  in  Cos- 
mic Evolution.  The  unity  of  all  things  means 
that  not  only  the  physical,  but  also  the  psy- 
chic and  the  spiritual,  unfold  as  part  of  the 
Great  Process  of  the  Universe. 

THE  BRAIN  OF  MAN  IS  ANIMAL— ITS 
CELLS  ARE  PHYSICAL,  BUT  THE  BRAIN 
IS  NOT  PERSONALITY. 

IT  IS  THE  INDIVIDUAL— CAPA- 
BLE OF  ABSTRACT  THOUGHT  AND 
OF  MORAL  CONDUCT  AND  OF  MORAL 
GROWTH,  WHO  CONSTITUTES  TRUE 
PERSONALITY. 

THE  HERITAGE  OF  THE  SOUL  IS  A 
HERITAGE  FROM  GOD  AND  MARKED 
THE  BIRTH  OF  SPIRITUAL  LIFE  ON 
EARTH. 


218  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

When  Mollie  Richards  had  read  this  panel 
seven  times,  she  remarked: 

"I  am  glad  that  Science  finds  my  soul  some- 
thing apart  from  animalism,  even  though  greatly 
affected  by  it." 

And  when  Zora  Wells  made  the  readings,  she 
said: 

"My  body,  including  my  brain,  as  a  machine 
is  changing  constantly,  but  Zora  Wells  keeps  on 
being  Zora  Wells.  Physiology  teaches  me  that  in 
my  body  there  are  innumerable  living  organisms 
which  die  daily  and  are  replaced  by  others.  Surely 
T  . ja  not  physical. ' ' 

Mildred  Thatcher,  after  her  study  of  the  panel, 
asked: 

"Is  it  not  wholly  rational  to  conclude  that  the 
realm  of  Spiritual  Life  under  God's  Plan  awaited 
for  its  earthly  advent  the  evolution  of  the  highest 
type  of  animal  life  to  afford  a  physical  habitation 
fit  for  occupancy  by  a  psychic  personality  capable 
of  spiritual  advancement  f ' ' 

Darwin  Snowson  heard  the  question  and  said 
in  answer: 

"If  the  'established  order  of  the  Universe'  as 
to  our  planet  means  anything  it  must  mean  that 
your  question  answers  itself  in  the  affirmative. 
First  the  inorganic,  then  after  vast  ages  phys- 
ical life,  then  more  eons  and  there  came  the  birth 
of  spiritual  life.  It  is  progress  in  an  apparent 
scale  which  makes  transcendant  the  immaterial. 

"Spirituality  implies  conduct  and  conduct  im- 
plies a  choice  of  actions  by  human  personality. 

"Whatever  the  stimulus,  the  act  of  rationally 
choosing  is  neither  physical  nor  mechanical. 


THE   CHAMBEE   OF   MAN  219 

"The  Realm  of  Spiritual  life  is  as  much  a  ver- 
ity as  the  realm  of  physical  life  and  the  spirit  of 
man  belongs  within  the  spiritual  realm. " 

Directly  bearing  upon  the  previous  panel  was 
the  fourth  and  last  panel  in  the  Alcove. 


IV.          HUMAN  PERSONALITY. 

You  are  aware  that  you  exist.  Many  of 
you  have  learned  that  through  your  CON- 
SCIOUSNESS only,  do  you  know  that  you 
have  a  body  which  you  use  as  the  habitation 
of  your  individuality. 

Also  through  your  CONSCIOUSNESS, 
only,  do  you  have  any  rational  comprehension 
of  the  external  world,  including  your  fellow 

beings. 

*      *      * 

Universal  human  experience,  as  well  as 
human  philosophy,  establishes  that  the  Indi- 
vidual—YOU— or  I— constitutes  A  SEPAR- 
ATE PERSONALITY  WITH  CERTAIN 
ATTRIBUTES  WHICH  ARE  NOT  AT  ALL 
PHYSICAL. 

This  personality  may  be  good  or  bad;  it 
may  be  generous  or  selfish;  it  may  be  wise  or 
foolish;  it  may  sometimes  be  good  and  some- 
times bad;  sometimes  generous  and  some- 
times selfish;  sometimes  wise  and  sometimes 


220  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


foolish;  in  short,  it  may  have  many  attributes 
which  in  no  way  are  physical  qualities  or  es- 
sentially related  to  the  physical;  and  these 
attributes  may  change  as  the  individual  goes 
on  living  on  earth. 

5JC  5j»  5JC 

All  human  social  institutions  recognize  in 
each  member  of  the  very  great  majority  of 
human  beings  a  personality,  an  individual 
who  is  socially  RESPONSIBLE  to  his  fellow 
human  beings  for  his  CONDUCT  towards 
them. 

Notwithstanding  all  humanity  is  acted 
upon  and  influenced  by  a  realm  of  physical, 
mental  and  spiritual  laws  which  impel  and 
oftentimes  control  the  acts  of  individuals,  yet 
the  power  of  choice  belongs  to  each  normal 
human  personality. 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  MAN— HIS  TRUE 
PERSONALITY  IS  CAPABLE  OF  MORAL 
EDUCATION  AND  FROM  THE  BEGIN- 
NING OF  HUMAN  LIFE  ON  EARTH,  THE 
POWER  WHICH  MAKES  FOR  RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS HAS  AIDED  IN  MAN'S  SPIR- 
ITUAL ADVANCEMENT. 


THE   CHAMBER   OF   MAN  221 

It  was  through  no  fault  of  Josephine  Penrose 
that  the  sliding  door  which  led  from  the  Alcove  of 
Dawn  into  the  Chamber  of  Man  should  suddenly 
close  as  she  was  passing  through  and  should 
clutch  her  dress  skirt  in  a  way  which  would  have 
prostrated  her,  had  not  protecting  arms  shot  out 
and  clasped  her  form. 

An  odd  sense  of  fate  sprang  into  her  heart 
when  she  found  herself  looking  into  Hon  Taylor's 
face  as  he  gently  held  her  while  he  thrust  back  the 
imprisoning  door. 

To  both  there  instantly  recurred  the  incidents 
which  had  originally  embarrassed  Josephine,  in 
Southern  California,  and  she  "  blushed  celestial, 
rosy  red"  as  she  realized  that  Hon  was  holding 
her  a  longer  time  than  absolutely  necessary. 

But  the  work  of  the  degree  was  impending,  so 
Hon  hastily  obtained  permission  to  call  at  her 
brother's  house  that  night  and  then  excused  him- 
self. 


The  instruction  of  the  Chamber  of  Man  was 
the  culmination  of  the  New  Genesis. 

Man  stalked  upon  the  scene  and  all  previously 
evolved  life  became  subordinate. 

The  Realm  of  the  Unmaterial,  the  kingdom  of 
intellectual  and  spiritual  life,  loomed  vast  and  the 
Realm  of  Matter  shrank  in  the  scale  of  ultimate 
value  to  the  vassal  of  Mind  and  Spirit. 

The  evolution  of  higher  physical  organisms 
ceased  on  earth  and  the  evolution  of  spirituality 
began. 


222          THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

It  was  Mathonihah  Cowley  who  faced  the  disci- 
ples and  delivered  the  instruction  of  the  degree 
and  the  instructor  first  voiced  these  words  of  The 
Beloved  Philosopher: 

"The  Society  of  Progress  has  brought  you  to 
the  advent  of  Mankind  upon  the  Earth.  It  is  su- 
premely important  that  you  shall  learn  the  true 
history  of  the  origin  and  development  of  Hu- 
manity. 

' '  The  vital  spiritual  import  of  all  earthly  evo- 
lution can  only  be  revealed  to  you  through  your 
comprehension  of  the  Truth  respecting  the  kind 
of  man  who  first  evolved  and  the  progress  of  man- 
kind since  the  earliest  human  ancestors  of  the  race 

roamed  the  primeval  world. 

*  *      * 

"Genesis  has  blinded  myriads  to  the  Truth 
about  God  and  also  to  the  truth  about  Man's 

origin,  his  history  and  his  destiny. 

*  *      * 

"The  hour  has  struck  when,  by  organized 
effort,  partly  exemplified  in  Our  Society,  the 
leaven  of  Truth  shall  commence  its  spread 
amongst  the  masses  of  the  world.  The  learned  of 

the  world  have  long  known  much  of  the  truth. 

*  *      * 

"Remember  that  the  revelations  taught  you  in 
this  degree  are  verifiable  by  every  intelligent  hu- 
man being,  and,  when  pitted  as  to  Truth  against 
the  tales  of  an  ancient  book,  they  are  comparable 
as  against  Genesis  exactly  to  the  truth  that  a 
child's  parents  and  friends  give  it  Christmas  pres- 
ents and  that  Santa  Claus  is  a  mere  mythical 
personage. ' ' 


THE    CHAMBER   OF  MAN  223 

Any  summary  of  the  instruction  given  in  the 
Chamber  of  Man  must  necessarily  be  greatly  in- 
adequate and  we  must  merely  sketch  in  broad 
conclusions  the  method  and  manner. 

First  by  graphic  illustrations  and  by  luminous, 
simple  verbal  explanations  the  kinship  of  Man  as 
an  animal  to  the  whole  realm  of  animal  life  was 
established  beyond  rational  controversy. 


Putting  physical  man  in  his  proper  place  as 
one  of  the  Primates  (pri-ma-tes),  the  higher  order 
of  Mammals,  bone  by  bone,  organ  by  organ,  his 
structure  was  shown  to  be  related  to  the  lemurs, 
monkeys  and  apes  and  in  many  respects  as  to  or- 
gans to  all  of  the  Mammals. 

Man  and  the  horse  and  the  lion  and  the  whale 
and  all  the  numerous  species  of  animals  which 
suckle  their  young  were  shown  to  belong  to  the 
same  class  of  animals  which  Science  has  termed 
the  Mammalia. 

#       *       * 

Then,  going  back  from  the  mammalia  in  the 
vertebral  or  " back-boned"  line,  the  animalistic 
pedigree  of  Man  was  traced  through  the  reptiles 
and  fishes  to  the  far-distant  evolutional  period 
when  the  invertebrate  protozoa  teemed  in  pri- 
meval seas  and  at  last  the  monera — the  single- 
celled  creatures — evidenced  the  dawn  of  life  upon 
earth. 

This  was  but  the  return  journey  of  the  scien- 
tific voyage  taken  in  the  preceding  degree. 


224  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Next  was  offered  different  and  most  convincing 
proof  of  the  descent  of  the  animal  Man  as  estab- 
lished by  Embryology. 

Veritable  revelations,  wonderful  and  rationally 
conclusive,  are  told  in  an  evolutional  record  which 
man  cannot  gainsay,  as  they  are  part  of  the  phys- 
ical life  history  of  each  human  being. 

*  *       * 

Introducing  the  disclosures  of  Embryology, 
the  instruction  began: 

"Reverently  and  with  firm  belief  that  God, 
Himself,  designed  that  proof  of  the  physical  pedi- 
gree of  Man  should  be  embodied  in  the  life  history 
of  each  human  being,  we  now  approach  the  revela- 
tions which  science  has  spelled  out  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  human  embryo  before  the  birth  of  the 

infant." 

*  #       * 

Thereupon  was  told  in  simple  words  and  pro- 
gressive illustrations  the  truths  that  the  human 
embryo  within  a  few  weeks  of  the  commencement 
of  the  embryonic  life  of  a  human  being,  passes 
through  the  evolutional  pedigree  of  man  from  a 
speck  of  protoplasm  to  fish-like  and  reptilian 
forms  on  down  through  other  animal  forms  "to 
his  more  immediate  descent  from  a  hairy,  tailed 
quadruped,"  thus  writing  in  embryonic  develop- 
ment the  animal  history  which  links  the  original 
forms  of  life  on  earth  in  unbroken  chain  with 

mankind. 

*  *       * 

The  prehistoric  man  then  came  to  tell  his  tale 
of  the  progress  of  the  race. 


THE   CHAMBER   OF   MAN  225 

Ages  back  of  any  written  history,  "in  a  dim 
and  dateless  past,'*  the  revelations  of  science  dis- 
closed beyond  rational  dispute  that  man  existed 
many  thousands  of  years  before  the  mythical  4004 
years  B.  C.,  which  have  been  represented  as  mark- 
ing the  creation  of  Adam  and  Eve. 

The  Bible  story  and  the  Bible  chronology  fell 
into  the  realm  of  the  untrue. 


It  was  shown  by  graphic  proofs  not  now  dis- 
puted by  any  scientist  of  any  standing  that  "there 
have  been  unearthed  from  ancient  river-beds, 
limestone  caverns,  lake-bottoms  and  refuse-heaps; 
from  rude  sepulchres  and  stone  structures,  an 
enormous  mass  of  relics  which  reveal  to  us  the 
story  of  man  during  periods  when  the  continent 
of  Europe  stretched  beyond  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  into  the  Atlantic,  and  was  joined  at  more 
than  one  point  with  Africa." 

All  the  evidence  garnered  from  many  sources 
fairly  establishes  that  primitive  man  lived  at  least 
forty  thousand  years  ago  and  scientists  of  highest 
rank  believe  that  there  is  substantial  evidence 
that  he  may  have  evolved  two  hundred  thousand 
or  more  years  earlier. 


Every  fossil,  human  remains,  all  associated 
fossils  of  animals  (some  long  extinct),  all  the  rude 
primitive  implements  of  chase  found  with  the 
bones  of  the  earliest  prehistoric  men  yet  discov- 
ered, chime  in  complete  rythm,  with  the  scientific 
story  of  the  evolution  of  Man  as  an  animal. 


226  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

While  primitive  man  thus  found  had  not  yet 
advanced  materially  on  the  "Upward  Way" 
which  leads  to  civilization  and  towards  the  Ideal 
in  Spiritual  Life,  we  must  go  still  farther  back- 
ward and  downward  towards  mere  animalism  to 

find  the  original  progenitors  of  our  race. 

*  *       # 

It  was  then  repeated  that  when  the  Man-like 
animal  ancestor  of  the  human  kind  evolved  into 
the  Ape-like  Man  the  Cosmic  Process  working  on 
our  earth  produced  something  which  had  not 
theretofore  existed — Human  personality — with  its 
attribute  of  mental  growth  through  the  coming 
ages,  and — supremely  more  significant — with  its 
attribute  of  moral  growth.  That  the  power  of 
speech  developed  with  the  upright  posture  was 

found  to  be  most  significant. 

*  *       * 

The  instruction  next  in  many  illustrations 
traced  the  onward  march  of  humanity  through  the 
Ancient  Stone-Age,  when  he  largely  dwelt  in  cav- 
erns and  hollow  trees,  when  his  brain  and  his 
hands  had  co-operated  so  far  as  to  make  rude 
stone  and  bone  implements  of  the  chase  and  of 
warfare — through  the  Newer  Stone-Age,  when  he 
had  grown  in  manual  dexterity  and  had  begun  to 
develop  crude  social  organizations  and  to  make 
habitations — through  the  Bronze  Age,  when  an- 
cient civilization  began  to  dawn  and  written  his- 
tory began  its  records,  and,  lastly,  through  the 

Iron  Age,  which  is  our  own  Age. 

*  *       * 

It  was  a  story  of  extremely  slow  progress  of 
man,  mentally  and  spiritually,  in  the  earlier  ages 


THE   CHAMBER   OF   MAN  227 

and  of  densely  ignorant  groping  for  fundamental 
truths.  It  was  a  story  of  growing  dominion  over 
the  other  creatures  of  earth  with  whom  he  fought 
for  existence;  a  story  of  many  bitter  and  bloody 
and  deadly  struggles  with  his  own  kind. 

BUT  THE  SUPREME  FACT  WAS  DEMON- 
STRATED THAT  HE  HAD  PROGRESSED 
THROUGH  THE  AGES  AND  GRADUALLY 
CREATED  INSTITUTIONS  WHICH  HAVE 
LED  TO  THE  INADEQUATE  BUT  HIGHER 
CIVILIZATIONS  OF  TODAY,  AND  THAT  AT 
LAST  SCIENCE— THE  SUM  OF  HUMAN 
KNOWLEDGE  —  BECAME  UNTRAMMELED 
AND  THE  REALITIES  BEGAN  TO  BE  COM- 
PREHENDED. 


There  was  another  story  told  in  the  closing 
instruction  of  this  degree.  It  was  the  story  of  the 
growth  or  evolution  of  Religion  amongst  the 
evolving  races  of  men. 

It  was  not  by  speaking  with  God;  it  was  not 
through  tablets  of  stone  or  of  gold,  God  written; 
it  was  not  by  visions  or  dreams  of  the  night  in 
which  men  were  taught  by  God  or  angels  (all  such 
claims  are  fictitious) ;  it  was  not  by  all  or  any  of 
these  that  always,  from  earliest  times,  the  race 
spiritually  groped  to  find  the  greater  Power  in  the 
Universe  and  to  worship  that  Power. 

The  Evolution  of  Religion  has  been  a  vitally 
significant  process,  but  it  was  solely  as  part,  the 
highest  part  of  the  general  Cosmic  Process — God 's 
Cosmic  Plan;  it  was  not  physical  evolution,  though 
physical  phenomena — the  tempest — the  thunder— 


228  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

the  tornado — and  the  avalanche — helped  lead  man 
slowly  towards  better  concepts  of  the  Supreme 

Being. 

*       *       # 

It  was  all  part  of  the  Divine  Plan  that  mankind 
should  progress  spiritually  from  animalism  and 
ignorance  o  'er  the  Upward  Way  towards  God,  and 
mankind  was  slowly  garnering  truth  in  all  the 
strange  pathway  it  walked  to  find  the  truth  and 
God. 

The  instruction  closed  with  a  quotation  from 
the  article  on  "Religion"  in  the  Encyclopedia 
Brittanica : 

Religion  has  been  "one  of  the  mightiest  mo- 
tors in  the  history  of  mankind,  which  formed  as 
well  as  tore  asunder,  nations,  united  as  well  as 
divided  empires,  which  sanctioned  the  most  atro- 
cious and  barbarous  deeds,  the  most  cruel  and 
libidinous  customs,  and  inspired  the  most  admira- 
ble acts  of  heroism,  self-renunciation  and  devo- 
tion, which  occasioned  the  most  sanguinary  of 
wars,  rebellions  and  persecutions,  as  well  as 
brought  about  the  freedom,  happiness  and  peace 
of  nations — at  one  time  a  partisan  of  tyranny,  at 
another  breaking  its  chains,  now  calling  into  exist- 
ence and  fostering  a  new  and  brilliant  civilisation, 
then  the  deadly  foe  to  progress,  science  and  art." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  SIXTH  DEGREE. 

ROBERT  YOUNG  was  a  splendid  specimen 
of  young  manhood.  Six  feet  two  in  his 
stockings  and  ideally  athletic  in  form,  it  is 
no  wonder  that  Darwin  Snowson  was  wont  to  re- 
mark affectionately,  "  Bobby,  you  are  a  fine  up- 
standing lad." 

Passionately  fond  of  walking,  it  happened  one 
morning  that  he  was  striding  through  wonderful 
Golden  Gate  Park  at  San  Francisco. 

He  had  entered  the  western  entrance,  which 
opens  from  the  shore  of  the  Pacific  and,  while 
enjoying  the  bracing  sea  air  and  dreaming  of  far 
lands  on  the  other  shore  of  the  great  ocean,  he  also 
noted  the  wild  shrubbery  reclaiming  from  barren- 
ness the  sands  which  the  storms  of  ages  past  had 
heaped  in  mounds  and  hollows  over  great  areas. 

Paying  scant  attention  to  the  gliding  automo- 
biles and  even  to  the  slender  stream  of  pedestrians 
marching  through  this  less-frequented  portion  of 
the  park,  he  was  startled  by  a  sudden  scream. 

His  quick  glances  revealed  an  impending  trag- 
edy. A  little  child  in  rompers  was  toddling 
directly  in  front  of  a  fast-coming  automobile 
which  was  gliding  down  a  pitch  in  the  narrow  side 
roadway  which  Robert  was  about  to  cross. 

Robert  divined  that  by  instantaneous  action  he 
might  save  the  child,  and  in  far  less  time  than  is 
consumed  in  reading  this  he  rushed  with  great 

229 


230  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

rapidity  the  few  yards  to  where  the  little  one, 
warned  by  the  scream  of  her  mother,  in  bewildered 
fear,  stood  helpless  whilst,  with  frantic  efforts,  the 
driver  of  the  car  vainly  tried  to  avert  the  danger. 

Eobert  was  in  time  to  save  the  little  girl,  whom 
he  grabbed  around  the  waist,  but  the  car  hit  him 
hard  enough  to  send  him  staggering  to  the  road- 
side, where  he  fell  forward.  In  falling,  at  the  risk 
of  his  own  face,  he  held  the  child  to  one  side  and 
ere  he  could  recover  himself  he  felt  soft  arms  tak- 
ing the  wee  girlie  from  him,  while  a  feminine  voice 
said: 

"Bobby,  you  certainly  are  a  fine  upstanding 
lad,"  and  then  an  almost  hysterical  laugh  rang 
out  as  the  speaker  continued  : 

' '  Of  course  you  are  not  upstanding  very  much 
just  now,  but  I  hope  you  will  be  in  a  moment. ' ' 

With  a  rapid  twist  of  his  muscular  frame 
Robert  sat  up  and  looked  with  much  bewilder- 
ment upon  the  charming  face  of  a  young  woman 
who  was  totally  unknown  to  him. 

This  astonishing  girl,  from  whose  eyes  tears 
were  flowing  unchecked,  suddenly  ceased  hugging 
and  kissing  the  wee  girlie  who  had  escaped  the 
great  peril  and,  holding  her  down  towards  Robert, 
said: 

'  *  Kiss  the  Big  Man,  sweetheart.  He  saved  you 
from  the  naughty  auto  that  would  have  hurted 
you  dreffully,  so  you  ought  to  thank  him  with  all 
your  heart." 

The  little  arms  stole  around  his  neck  and  a 
soft  kiss  fluttered  upon  his  lips  as  the  child 
gravely  said: 


KOMANCE   OF  SIXTH  DEGREE      231 

"  Thank  yon,  Big  Man.  I  was  drefful  'fraid  of 
that  auto." 

There  was  a  flutter  of  skirts  and  a  rush  of 
grateful  motherhood.  Robert  felt  himself  and  the 
child  encircled  in  impulsive  arms  while  incoher- 
ently the  mother  poured  out  her  thanks  to  the 
young  man. 

The  rapidity  of  the  incidents  momentarily  pre- 
vented Robert  from  rising,  but  he  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  when  he  had,  he  heard  the  voice  of  the 
young  woman  who  knew  him  and  had  quoted  Dar- 
win Snowson  saying: 

"Sister,  perhaps  Mr.  Young  would  like  to  find 
out  whether  any  of  his  bones  are  broken." 

By  this  time  the  car  which  had  nearly  caused 
a  tragedy  had  returned  and  the  occupants  were 
alighting. 

Hurriedly,  the  young  woman  said : 

' '  Mr.  Young,  before  we  are  interrupted,  I  wish 
to  introduce  you  to  my  sister,  Mrs.  Tomkins,  and 
the  little  sweetheart  you  saved  is  Sallie." 

Robert  felt  a  sense  of  unreality  in  being  so 
familiarly  treated  by  one  whom  he  was  sure  he 
had  never  met,  yet  he  was  not  greatly  surprised 
to  find  in  a  few  moments  that  under  the  appar- 
ently ingenuous  management  of  the  young 
woman,  Mrs.  Tomkins  and  Sallie  had  been  sent 
home  in  the  car  with  the  grateful  owner  and  her 
friends,  while  he  remained  in  the  Park  with  the 
girl  who  had  effectually  mystified  him. 

Aside  from  a  bruised  thigh  he  had  suffered  no 
injury  and  had  assured  them  all  that  he  required 
no  assistance. 


232  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"Mr.  Young,  I  am  not  going  to  apologize  for 
my  reprehensible  conduct,  but  I  deliberately 
planned  to  have  us  left  alone  in  the  Park  and  I 
have  a  real  daring  proposition  to  submit  to  you." 

Robert  said  under  his  breath :  ' '  I  'd  dare  much 
with  you,"  as  the  girl  continued: 

"No  matter  now  how  I  know  you,  if  you  have 
the  day  free,  I  would  like  to  play  that  we  are  old 
friends  and  meet  for  the  first  time  in  a  decade  and 
wish  to  find  out  what  the  years  have  done  for  us." 

Gravely  Robert  replied : 

"I  haven't  the  key  to  your  mystery,  but  I  echo 
your  wish  and  I  propose  as  the  first  'old  friend' 
act  that  we  stroll  out  to  the  Cliff  House  for  a  fish 
luncheon.  I  am  content  to  await  your  explanation 
of  how  you  happen  to  be  familiar  with  the  very 
words  of  my  closest  friend." 

Robert  places  that  day  amongst  his  memories 
as  one  of  the  rare  days  of  all  his  life.  If  the  girl 
had  deliberately  set  out  to  charm  him  into  an  ad- 
miration which  must  turn  into  love  she  could  not 
have  better  planned. 

Merry  and  witty  at  times,  serious  and  earnest 
at  others,  she  sought  and  gave  such  open  expres- 
sion upon  so  wide  a  range  of  subjects  that  Robert 
afterwards  sententiously  said  to  himself:  "She 
led  me  from  Base  Ball  to  Immortality  and  I  bared 
my  very  soul  to  her. '  ' 

Strolling  here  and  there  in  the  wonderful  Park, 
now  resting  in  some  secluded  spot,  and  again 
mingling  with  the  other  visitors,  they  did  not  fail 
to  enjoy  their  surroundings,  but  mostly  they  were 
getting  acquainted  in  a  way  that  months  of  ordi- 
nary social  meetings  might  not  have  accomplished. 


ROMANCE   OF   SIXTH   DEGREE      233 

But  as  far  as  acquaintanceship  by  name  was 
concerned  Robert  began  to  wonder  whether  he  was 
ever  to  learn  who  his  absorbingly  interesting  com- 
panion was. 

As  the  afternoon  wore  on,  he  remarked  that 
he  was  returning  to  Salt  Lake  City  in  the  morning 
and  that  he  regretted  that  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
so  soon,  but  he  would  be  back  in  San  Francisco 
within  a  short  time  and  wished  to  call  upon  her 
sister  and  herself  and,  if  agreeable,  to  have  her 
companionship  another  day  in  the  Park. 

He  did  not  tell  the  girl  that  he  had  not  intended 
to  visit  "The  New  York  of  the  "West"  again  for 
several  months,  but  that  somehow  within  a  few 
hours  another  visit  had  become  quite  imperative. 

As  he  spoke  he  noted  a  merry  twinkle  appear- 
ing in  the  eyes  which  he  admired  so  greatly. 

"Mr.  Young,  it  seems  very  ungrateful  not  to 
tell  you  my  name,  but  you  are  coming  back  soon 
and  I  will  be  very  glad  to  see  you  again.  I'll  give 
you  my  sister's  address,  but  I  am  going  to  let 
Darwin  Snowson  tell  you  who  I  am.  Tell  him  for 
me  that  the  shorter  of  the  two  girls  who  shared 
with  him  his  Arabian  Cave  during  a  bad  thunder- 
storm has  finally  met  the  chum  of  whom  he  has 
written  so  much  to  the  taller  of  the  girls,  and  that 
I  certainly  think  he  is  a  'fine  upstanding  lad.' 

Then  it  was  that  Bobby  had  his  inning.  He 
had  not  been  Darwin's  chum  for  nothing. 

First  stretching  out  his  own  hand  and  grasping 
the  hand  of  the  girl,  he  flashed  a  sudden  happy 
smile,  saying: 

"Miss  Marie  Templeton  of  Capitolton,  I  am 
very  glad  to  know  you. ' ' 


234  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Laughing  like  two  children,  the  companions  of 
a  day  enjoyed  the  sudden  solution  of  the  little 
mystery  and  Marie  Templeton,  for  it  was  she,  at 
last  replied: 

"I'm  glad  my  little  plot  was  spoiled,  for  now 
we  can  talk  of  Darwin  and  Faith  Winthrop,  It 
was  through  seeing  some  of  your  photographs 
which  Faith  has  that  I  knew  you  as  you  strode  up 
the  path  before  the  accident.  You  know  that  you 
are  quite  an  unmistakable  personage,  don't  you?" 

So  as  they  strolled  out  of  the  Park  and  up  and 
down  the  hilly  slopes  of  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  City  to  the  Tomkins  home,  Robert  became 
aware  in  the  mutual  confidences  about  Darwin  and 
Faith,  without  any  direct  expression,  that  his  lin- 
eage did  not  weigh  against  him  with  the  utterly 
charming  girl  whose  companionship  had  so  quickly 
become  one  of  the  principal  things  in  his  exist- 
ence. 

He  also  became  aware  that  Marie  feared  that 
Faith's  puritan  blood  would  revolt  against  a  mar- 
riage with  Darwin. 

After  undergoing  the  ordeal  of  praise  and 
thanks  from  the  father  of  little  Sallie  and  the  re- 
iterated blessings  of  Mrs.  Tomkins,  Robert  reluc- 
tantly said  goodbye  to  Marie  Templeton. 

If  his  thoughts  turned  often  from  the  borders 
of  the  Great  Salt  Sea  to  the  city  of  the  Golden 
Gate,  was  it  not  most  natural? 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE  SIXTH  DEGREE — THE  CHAMBER  OF  BROKEN  IDOLS. 

JUST  how  many  trips  Robert  Young  made 
to  San  Francisco  before  the  fateful  April 
of  193  ,  perhaps  only  Marie  Templeton 
could  tell. 

It  was  late  in  March  when  Marie  stopped 
over  in  Salt  Lake  City  to  have  a  cherished  visit 
with  Alice  Douglas,  the  lovely  young-hearted, 
white-haired  "Aunt  Alice"  of  the  Cathertons  and 
Snowsons. 

That  the  wise,  much-loved  counsellor  of 
Eleanor  Catherton  and  Naomi  Snowson  should 
also  be  a  prime  favorite  with  the  Seven  was  in- 
evitable, and  especially  with  Darwin  Snowson  and 
Robert  Young,  who  had  made  her  home  a  constant 
place  of  call  and  her  suggestions  a  constant  source 
of  inspiration  during  the  organization  and 
growth  of  the  Society  of  Progress. 

Not  only  did  Aunt  Alice  take  the  degrees 
amongst  the  first  initiates,  but  in  the  artistic  de- 
signs of  the  Seven  Chambers  her  suggestions  had 
produced  many  of  the  entirely  charming  effects 
which  the  contrasting  harmony  of  colors  gave. 

It  was  Aunt  Alice  who  guided  Marie  Temple- 
ton  through  the  degrees,  and  when  they  had 
passed  the  tall  bronze  entrance  gate  of  the  Sixth 
Degree  through  the  heavy  curtains,  Marie  at  once 
noted  a  radical  difference  between  the  panelled 

235 


236  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

alcoves  of  the  other  degrees  and  the  walls  of  the 
Room  of  the  Scrolls,  as  this  one  was  called. 

The  walls  of  this  room  were  rectangular  be- 
neath a  beautifully  arched  ceiling  and  adapted 
strikingly  to  the  use  designed  for  it  in  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Society. 

Upon  entrance  into  the  room  Marie  Temple- 
ton  found  the  walls  apparently  blocked  out  with 
a  number  of  deep  brilliant  blue,  smooth  surfaced 
silk  panels  with  odd  looking  tops  and  bottoms. 

It  developed  that  each  of  these  was  the  com- 
mencement of  a  scroll  which  moved  upward  in 
sections  upon  the  pressing  of  an  electric  button. 

The  guide,  as  in  the  other  degrees,  requested 
the  initiate  to  read  each  section  of  each  scroll 
seven  times  and  then  the  first  blank  blue  segment 
at  the  left  rolled  upward,  and  to  Marie 's  eyes  upon 
the  blue  background  of  the  new  segment  in  clear 
white  letters  there  appeared  the  first  paragraph 
of  a  printed  message,  preceded  by  the  representa- 
tion of  seven  golden  stars. 

Each  initiate  and  the  guide  occupied  a  high 
divan  seat  with  foot  rests  while  reading  each 
scroll. 

Marie,  as  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Capi- 
tolton,  had  found  much  of  the  instruction  of  the 
preceding  degrees,  but  the  unification  of  knowl- 
edge already  acquired,  nevertheless  she  had 
gained  strong  impressions  of  the  greater  message 
to  be  revealed  in  the  last  two  degrees  and  eagerly 
read  the  words  presented  to  her  bright  eyes. 


CHAMBER   OF   BEOKEN   IDOLS      237 


SCROLL  I. 

1. 

To  the  Chamber  of  Broken  Idols  the  So- 
ciety of  Progress  brings  your  soul. 

*  *      * 

If  the  Society  could  construct  nothing  in 
place  of  the  Spiritual  Images  which  are  to 
be  destroyed,  and  Truth  demanded  their  de- 
molition, our  Society  would  still  feel  that  the 
Idols  must  be  shattered. 

But  no  soul  need  fear  because  old  spiritual 
idols  are  to  be  demolished. 

*  *      * 

The  Society  of  Progress  promises  a 
grander  faith,  founded  on  God's  Truth  and 
that  every  high  ideal  of  your  soul  in  holier 
spirituality  shall  find  itself  reaching  upward 
to  the  Infinite  One  as  part  of  the  Divine  Plan 
for  Humanity. 

Therefore,  search  your  soul  and  shun  no 
sacrifice  of  false  spiritual  Idols  which  you 
have  ignorantly  worshiped. 


After  the  seven  readings  of  the  opening  sec- 
tion of  the  Scrolls,  Moses  Trustell,  the  first  mar- 
tyr of  the  Society,  then  bent  on  betraying  its  se- 
crets, began  to  shrink  in  spiritual  fear  from  the 
plan  of  betrayal  which  had  possessed  him,  and 
later  the  teachings  of  this  degree  and  the  Seventh 
Degree  brought  his  confession. 


238  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

When  Marie  Templeton  had  finished  the  read- 
ings of  this  section,  she  said  to  Alice  Douglas : 

"I  already  have  broken  to  fragments  many 
spiritual  idols  which  I  felt  were  not  true,  and  I 
will  welcome  the  destruction  of  all  others  which 
are  denied  by  God's  Truth. " 

Then  the  scroll  moved  upward  and  the  second 
message  of  the  Scrolls  appeared: 


2. 


QUESTIONS  FOR  YOU. 

"If  one  finds  strong  reason  to  doubt  and 
abjure  an  inherited  religion  as  not  truthful 
and  as  inconsistent  with  the  revelations  of 
the  working  out  of  God's  process  for  man,  as 
shown  in  the  records  of  ascertained  truth, 
then  if  he  does  not  forsake  the  untrue  and 
turn  to  the  truth,  is  he  not  either  a  moral  cow- 
ard or  a  hypocrite?" 

*      *      * 

To  every  religionist  on  earth  the  Society 
of  Progress  seeks  to  bring  these  questions: 
"Is  your  soul  seeking  the  truth?"  and  as 
correlatives,  "Is  your  religion  denied  by  the 
truth? "and  "Has  your  soul  spiritual  strength 
to  forsake  the  untrue?" 


Still  upward  rolled  the  Scroll  and  another  sec- 
tion brought  a  personal  message  which  was  so 
vital  to  each  disciple,  and  which  is  so  vital  to 
every  human  being,  that  it  will  never  cease  to 
make  demands  upon  the  souls  of  mankind.  Linked 
with  subsequent  sections  of  the  Scrolls  it  pecu- 
liarly searched  the  souls  of  Mormons  and  all  Chris- 
tians respecting  beliefs  which  the  Society  of  Prog- 
ress deemed  both  unworthy  and  untrue. 


3. 

FROM  YOU,  FROM  EVERY  HUMAN 
PERSONALITY,  FROM  EVERY  SOUL, 
SPIRITUAL  TRUTH  DEMANDS: 

1  'I.  THAT  YOUR  GOD  SHALL  NOT  BE 
A  GOD  OF  WHICH  YOUR  SOUL  MUST  BE 
ASHAMED. 

"II.  THAT  THOU  SHALT  NOT 
ASCRIBE  TO  GOD  ANY  ACT  WHICH  DE- 
GRADES YOUR  SOUL  BY  BELIEVING 
SUCH  ACT  AS  DONE  BY  HIM. 

"IH.  THAT  THOU  SHALT  NOT 
ASCRIBE  TO  GOD  ANY  REVELATION 
WHICH  CANNOT  BE  VERIFIED  BY 
EVERY  TEST  OF  TRUTH. 

"IV.  THAT  THOU  SHALT  REJECT 
AND  FORSAKE  THE  SOUL  TYRANNY 
OF  ANY  BOOK  WHICH  PURPORTS  TO 


240-          THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

BE  INSPIRED  OF  GOD  OR  TO  TEACH 
GOD'S  REVELATIONS  IF  IT  BEAR 
WITHIN  ITSELF  SHAMEFUL  CONCEP- 
TIONS OF  GOD. 

"V.  THAT  THOU  SHALT  NOT 
ASCRIBE  TO  GOD  THAT  HE  WILLFUL- 
LY CHOSE  ANY  PEOPLE  AS  HIS  OWN, 
TO  BE  FAVORED  BY  HIM  AGAINST 
OTHERS  OF  HIS  CREATURES,  OR  THAT 
HE  EVER  CHOSE  ANY  MAN  AS  HIS  FA- 
VORITE. THOU  MUST  ASCRIBE  TO 
GOD  INFINITE  JUSTICE  EXEMPLIFIED 
IN  HIS  PROCESS  WHICH  RULES  ALL 
HUMANITY  BY  THE  SAME  LAWS  OF 
PHYSICAL,  MENTAL  AND  SPIRITUAL 
GROWTH. 

"VI.  THAT  THOU  SHALT  WORSHIP 
GOD  AS  INFINITELY  ABOVE  ALL  HU- 
MAN PASSIONS;  INFINITELY  HIGHER 
IN  SPIRITUALITY  THAN  THE  HIGHEST 
HUMAN  IDEALS  AND  AS  LEADING 
MANKIND  ALONG  THE  UPWARD  SPIR- 
ITUAL WAY  BY  MEANS  OF  A  REALM  OF 
SPIRITUAL  LAWS  WHICH  CAN  BE 
USED  BY  EVERY  SOUL  AND  WHICH 
HAVE  ALWAYS  INSPIRED  SPIRITUAL 
PROGRESS. 


CHAMBER   OF  BROKEN  IDOLS      241 

It  is  said  that  very  many  disciples  read  the 
message  on  the  third  section  of  this  scroll  so  many 
times  and  so  intently  that  they  could  repeat  it 
word  for  word. 

The  direct  attacks  upon  Genesis  made  in  the 
previous  Degrees  had  prepared  most  of  the  disci- 
ples for  the  next  section  of  the  first  Scroll  which, 
with  the  preceding  section  and  with  subsequent 
sections  of  other  Scrolls,  was  printed  and  given 
to  each  disciple  who  completed  the  seven  Degrees, 
to  be  used  in  awakening  the  consciences  of  Mor- 
mons who  were  susceptible  to  the  appeal  to  better 
spirituality. 

As  the  Scroll  moved  upward  and  brought  to 
vision  the  fourth  section  it  was  noted  by  the  So- 
ciety's guides  that  more  interest  was  manifested 
in  what  should  be  displayed  than  in  any  previous 
teaching  except  the  First  Degree.  The  vital  spir- 
itual significance  of  the  preceding  section  had 
made  eager  souls. 


242  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


4. 

SPIRITUAL  IDOLS  are  not  to  be  wor- 
shiped by  free  souls  any  more  than  "graven 

images." 

*  *      * 

The  Society  of  Progress  now  asks  your 
soul  whether  it  will  shatter  such  spiritual 
images  as  shall  be  proven  false  Idols  of  Be- 
lief. 

*  *      * 

Because  of  its  environment  the  Society  of 
Progress  addresses  certain  SOUL-SEARCH- 
ING QUESTIONS  TO  MORMONS,  CHRIS- 
TIANS AND  JEWS.  EQUALLY  SEARCH- 
ING QUESTIONS  CAN  BE  ASKED  OF  RE- 
LIGIONISTS OF  EVERY  OTHER  BELIEF. 

TO  THOSE  WHO  BELIEVE  IN  THE 
GOD  OF  THE  JEWISH  BIBLE  AND  OF 
THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON  (which  really  has 
a  better  God  than  the  Bible  because  he  was 
a  nineteenth  century  God  taken  back  in  the 
fiction  of  the  book  to  600  years  B.  C.)  THE 
SOCIETY  OF  PROGRESS  ASKS  A  MUL- 
TITUDE OF  QUESTIONS  AND  MAKES 
ITS  DEMANDS  UPON  YOUR  SPIRITUAL 
HONOR. 


CHAMBER   OF   BROKEN  IDOLS      243 

Again  the  Scroll  rolled  upward  and  the  new 
section  brought  the  first  question. 


5. 

(I.)  Do  you,  and  can  you  in  honesty  of 
spirit,  believe  in  a  God  who  makes  revela- 
tions in  Genesis  respecting  the  origin  of  the 
universe  and  of  life  upon  the  earth  which 
are  completely  and  fundamentally  contra- 
dicted by  ascertained  truth  revealed  in  con- 
tinuing monuments  of  God's  universe  and  in 
the  actual  history  of  life  preserved  in  the 
rocks  of  our  earth  and  in  the  organisms  of 
living  things? 

The  Society  of  Progress  says  that  The 
Infinite  One,  the  real  and  only  God  of  the 
Cosmos,  did  not  inspire  Genesis  and  that 
THE  SOUL  WHICH  BELIEVES  THAT 
GENESIS  IS  TRUE  IS  DISHONORING 
GOD  for  a  multitude  of  reasons,  some  of 
which  will  be  immediately  shown. 


To  the  disciples  of  the  Society  who  had  all 
taken  the  preceding  degrees,  the  earlier  questions 
summarized  and  made  vital  the  preparatory 
teachings  of  the  Society,  but  it  had  been  deemed 
wise  to  marshal  in  force  the  whole  array  of  Truth 
to  combat  the  false  conceptions  of  God's  relations 


244  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

to  Humanity  which  arise  from  Genesis,  so  that 
the  whole  structure  of  Religion  reared  upon  the 
Tales  of  Genesis  should  be  destroyed  from  founda- 
tion to  dome,  whether  taught  as  Judaism,  Chris- 
tianity or  Mormonism. 

Another  question  was  contained  in  the  same 
segment  of  the  Scroll  and  it  bore  directly  on  the 
subject  of  the  first  question. 


(II.)  Do  you  believe  in  a  God  who  makes 
two  revelations  in  Genesis  respecting  the 
creation  of  the  universe,  which  revelations 
are  contradictory  of  each  other? 

nf  *  * 

The  Society  of  Progress,  in  the  name  of 
true  spiritual  worship  of  the  Almighty,  de- 
mands that  you  shall  not  accuse  God  of  such 
conduct.  God  does  not  inspire  falsities,  nor 
does  He  contradict  Himself. 


The  First  Scroll  ended  as  a  segment  of  blue 
without  lettering  replaced  the  message  of  the  fifth 
printed  segment. 

Marie  Templeton  was  then  led  by  Alice  Doug- 
lass to  the  Second  Scroll  and,  ensconced  on  an- 
other high  divan,  she  turned  her  eyes  towards  the 
segment  which  was  rising  into  view,  and  found 
another  challenge  to  those  who  dishonored  God 
with  beliefs  which  are  founded  on  Genesis. 


CHAMBER  OF  BROKEN  IDOLS      245 


SCROLL  II. 

6. 

(III.)  Do  you  believe  in  a  God  who  cre- 
ated Adam  and  Eve,  as  alleged  in  Genesis 
and  PERSONALLY  issued  a  command  to 
them,  BEFORE  THEY  HAD  ANY  KNOWL- 
EDGE OF  GOOD  AND  EVIL,  and  then,  when 
they  disobeyed,  "cursed  the  ground"  and 
condemned  them  and  all  mankind  because  of 
the  absolutely  innocent  "sin"  of  these  ficti- 
tious little  children  of  the  race? 

Do  you  dare  to  dishonor  God  by  such  a 
belief?  God  could  not  thus  act.  An  earthly 
parent  who  would  be  so  unjust  would  be 
quite  universally  condemned. 


The  Society  of  Progress  says  to  you  that 
the  time  has  come  when  the  highest  evolved 
of  the  race  shall  teach  ignorant  souls  that 
the  Infinite  One  is  infinitely  above  such  un- 
God-like  conduct.  God  is  infinitely  just.  God 
never  "cursed"  any  human  being,  nor  any 
thing.  Cursing  is  finite  and  base. 


The  later  instruction  of  the  Sixth  Degree  in 
the  Main  Chamber  amplified  the  declaration  con- 
tained in  this  segment  of  the  Second  Scroll,  as  it 
also  emphasized  many  of  the  lessens  taught  in  the 
soul-searching  questions. 


246  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  third  question  had  struck  directly  at  the 
doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  for  if  the  race  did  not 
"sin  in  Adam*'  what  becomes  of  that  doctrine? 

The  next  upward  journey  of  the  Scroll  brought 
questions  peculiarly  related  to  Mormon  beliefs, 
and  yet  founded  directly  upon  Genesis. 


—..—..._.* 


7. 


(IV.)  Do  you  believe  in  the  plurality  of 
Gods  mentioned  in  Genesis? 

And  do  you  believe  the  tales  of  Genesis 
that  God  had  "sons"  who  took  daughters  of 
men  for  wives  and  physically  co-habited  with 
them,  and  that  human  children  were  born  of 

such  unions? 

•f      *      * 

Answer  in  spiritual  honesty  whether  you 
dare  degrade  The  Infinite  One  by  such  be- 
liefs. 

*      *      * 

The  Society  of  Progress  finds  through  the 
Great  Process  of  God  and  through  the  Divine 
Plan  total  denial  of  these  assertions  of  Gene- 
sis. God  cannot  be  physical.  The  only 
Fatherhood  of  God  is  the  spiritual  Father- 
hood, which  gave  to  finite  souls  the  power  of 


CHAMBER   OF   BROKEN  IDOLS      247 


spiritual  advancement  and  which  ever  im- 
pels humanity  to  advance  spiritually. 

It  is  spiritual  kinship  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  the  finite  relation  of  Father 
and  child. 


Again  the  relentless  scroll  rolling  upward 
brought  another  test  of  soul  freedom  to  all  who 
read  its  words  and  now  brings  it  to  you  and  to  me. 

Shall  we  shun  it  in  self-deceit  or  spiritual  fear? 

Surely  we  must  read  it  and  answer  to  our  own 
consciences. 


8. 

(V.)  Do  you  believe  that  God  made  such 
a  poor  job  of  creation  that  "HE  REPENTED 
THAT  HE  HAD  MADE  MAN  ON  THE 
EARTH"  and  that  He  resolved  that  He 
would  destroy  "both  man  and  beast  and  the 
creeping  things  and  the  fowls  of  the  air;  for 
it  repenteth  me  that  I  have  made  them?" 

*      *      * 

Do  you  believe  that  the  Creator  and  In- 
finite Power  which,  through  unalterable, 
Laws  rules  the  inconceivably  vast  Universe; 


248  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


do  you  believe  that  the  Infinite  Intelligence 
whose  wisdom  and  foreknowledge  is  so  in- 
finitely higher  than  any  human  knowledge 
that  we  can  not  frame  expression  to  measure 
it  at  all;  do  you  believe  that  The  Infinite  One 
whose  infinite  spirituality  and  perfection  is 
but  feebly  and  finitely  shadowed  in  our  high- 
est finite  spirituality,  adoration  and  worship; 
do  you  believe  that  God  ever  had  to  '  'repent' ' 
any  act  or  the  making  of  anything  in  the 
Cosmos? 


Is  Genesis  false  or  true  when  it  says  that 
God  "repented"  his  handiwork  and  resolved 
to  destroy  it?  Why  weigh  down  your  soul 
with  such  conceptions  of  God? 


Of  course,  to  all  careful  readers  of  the  Bible 
it  was  apparent  that  the  alleged  flood  of  Noah's 
time  was  being  put  under  the  test  of  dishonoring 
God  by  belief  in  the  Scripture  tale,  and  when  an- 
other segment  of  the  scroll  was  presented  direct 
challenge  shone  out. 


CHAMBEE   OF  BROKEN  IDOLS      249 


9. 

(VI.)  Do  you  believe  that  God  actually 
sent  a  flood  over  all  the  earth  to  destroy  all 
living  creatures  except  Noah  and  his  family 
and  "two  of  every  sort"  of  living  creatures 
which  were  gathered  into  the  ark? 

*  *      * 

What  kind  of  God  do  you  ignorantly  wor- 
ship if  you  can  believe  this,  through  your 
soul  slavery,  which  believes  that  the  Bible 
is  God's  Word? 

»s»  *P  *K 

Floods,  tempests,  tornadoes,  lightning, 
avalanches,  and  all  physical  phenomena 
whatsoever,  occur  strictly  under  the  reign  of 
natural  law. 

GOD  DOES  NOT  INTERFERE  WITH 
HIS  PROCESS,  EITHER  TO  REWARD  OR 

TO  PUNISH. 

*  *      * 

You  degrade  God  in  your  soul  when  you 
give  belief  to  the  idea  that  He  uses  any  physi- 
cal force  or  any  other  force  to  reward  or  to 
punish  any  human  being  or  any  community 
or  any  nation. 


250  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

There  was  more  to  come  regarding  the  flood  in 
succeeding  segments,  as  the  Society  deemed  it 
greatly  to  be  desired  that  the  lesson  about  the 
flood  should  be  thoroughly  learned  because  the 
Bible  tale  cast  upon  God  such  intentional  and  in- 
defensible conduct. 


10. 

(VII.)  What  kind  of  a  God  do  you  wor- 
ship who  wished  to  destroy  every  living  crea- 
ture of  His  own  creation,  all  of  which  He 
originally  pronounced  "very  good,"  and  yet 
was  so  ignorant  of  His  own  laws  of  physical 
life  that  He  didn't  know  that  both  the  human 
creatures  and  their  animal  relatives  who 
were  preserved  in  the  ark  would  go  on  and 
procreate  just  the  same  kind  of  creatures  as 
God  thought  He  ought  to  destroy? 

*      *      * 

Animals  other  than  man  cannot  be 
wicked;  why  were  they  destroyed  and  why 
did  God  "repent"  that  he  had  created  them? 

Don't  you  know  that  the  same  Bible  ex- 
hibits mankind  after  the  flood  as  just  as 
|  wicked  as  before?    Ask  the  tiger  and  the 
snake  and  the  crocodile  whether  they  changed 
their  natures  because  of  the  flood. 


CHAMBER   OF   BBOKEN   IDOLS      251 


Are  you  proud  of  a  God  who,  after  wreak- 
ing vengeance  upon  every  living  thing  save 
the  inhabitants  of  the  ark,  IMMEDIATELY 
BECAME  SORRY  THAT  HE  HAD  DONE 
SO  and  made  a  covenant  with  Noah  and  with 
his  seed  and  with  every  living  creature  in 
the  ark  that  "neither  shall  all  flesh  be  cut 
off  any  more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood;  neither 
shall  there  any  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the 

earth." 

*      *      * 

Do  you  believe  that  He  set  the  rainbow 
in  the  clouds  so  that  He  should  look  upon 
it  and  REMEMBER  HIS  COVENANT?  | 

WAS  GOD  FORGETFUL? 


The  next  segment  was  a  continuation  of  the 
preceding  one. 


11. 

(VIII.)  Are  you  aware  that  science  re- 
veals that  no  such  absurd  vacillating  un- 
God-like  conduct  can  be  ascribed  to  the  In- 
finite One? 

*      *      * 

Geology  and  Physics  reveal  that  the  tale 
of  the  flood  is  untrue.  No  such  flood  ever 
occurred  and  it  could  not  occur. 

3JC  SjC  5{C 


252  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


Are  you  childish  enough  to  believe  that 
forty  days  of  rain,  however  torrential,  could 
cover  the  mountains  of  the  earth,  some  of 
which  rise  five  miles  above  sea  level? 

Where  do  you  think  all  the  water  came 
from  to  cover  the  earth  five  miles  deep,  and 
where  do  you  think  it  went  after  the  flood 
had  executed  the  awful  vengeance  of  the  God 
of  the  flood  story? 

Did  it  pour  out  of  a  hole  in  a  '  'firmament " 
and  was  it  afterwards  sucked  back  through 

the  same  hole? 

*      *      * 

Science  long  ago  exploded  the  idea  of  a 
"firmament"  and  the  earth's  atmosphere  at 
its  utmost  saturation  can  contain  no  such 
supply  of  water  by  many  thousands  of  feet 
in  depth.  Water  doesn't  escape  into  space 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  atmosphere. 

Don't  you  know  that  the  rainbow  is 
a  natural  phenomenon  and  that  ages  before 
the  days  of  Noah  human  eyes  witnessed  it 
displayed  in  the  sky  whenever  the  proper 
natural  conditions  prevailed? 


CHAMBER   OF  BROKEN   IDOLS      253 


Finally,  are  you  aware  that  the  ascer- 
tained species  of  "every  living  substance" 
are  so  great  in  number  and  in  bulk  that  a 

thousand  arks  could  not  hold  them? 
*      *      * 

The  Bible  is  untrue  in  its  tale  of  the  Flood. 
First,  because  it  falsifies  God's  plan  for  hu- 
manity; secondly,  because  it  puts  God  in  an 
impossible  relation  towards  the  creatures  of 
His  Process;  thirdly,  because  God's  laws 
negative  the  possibility  of  such  a  flood  and 
again  because  God's  records  in  the  rocks 
deny  the  story  utterly,  and  lastly  because  it 
is  inherently  untrue. 


The  Second  Scroll  ended  and  it  was  usual  at 
this  point  that  the  guide  requested  the  reader  to 
discuss  the  questions  of  the  Scrolls  in  any  way 
which  would  assist  the  disciple. 

Amongst  the  Seven,  part  of  the  history  of  the 
Sixth  Degree  related  to  many  thoughts  which  had 
been  expressed  by  disciples  who  thus  paused  in 
the  midst  of  the  Soul-searching  questions. 

It  was  told  that  one  who  had  clung  to  hopes  of 
reconciling  the  Bible  with  science,  oddly  enough 
assumed  that  in  the  scientific  proofs  against  the 
Flood  story  there  was  a  denial  of  the  power  of  the 
Almighty. 

"Couldn't  God  create  water  enough  to  cover 
the  mountains  and  then  destroy  it  when  He  had 
accomplished  His  purposes?" 


254  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  answer  scarcely  seemed  to  satisfy  the 
questioner,  for  she  was  of  the  ignorant,  who  com- 
prehend but  slowly  that  the  revelations  of  Science 
in  the  physical  world  are  God's  own  revelations  of 
His  immutable  Laws. 

"The  power  of  God  is  Infinite,  but  He  exer- 
cises it  in  the  physical  universe  only  by  means  of 
what  we  call  natural  laws.  Our  earth  tells  no 
story  of  any  special  supernatural  intervention  of 
God,  no  universal  flood  sent  at  His  command,  and 
no  standing  still  of  the  sun  at  His  mandate  and  no 
tempest  engendered  other  than  by  natural 

forces." 

#      *      # 

Another  whose  mind  advanced  towards  ulti- 
mate conclusions  asked  his  guide : 

"What  of  Christ  and  the  New  Testament? 
Does  the  breaking  of  Spiritual  Idols  go  so  far  as 
to  deny  Christianity?"  And  for  answer  he  re- 
ceived the  reply  which  the  Society  had  prepared 
for  just  such  a  question : 

"If  the  whole  fabric  of  orthodox  Christianity 
be  proven  to  be  a  fanciful  tapestry  woven  with 
strands  of  untruth  and  with  false  pictures  of  God, 
surely  no  disciple  of  the  Society  of  Progress  need 
dread  the  demolition  of  such  a  fabric. 

Whatever  Jesus  taught  that  has  aided  human 
progress  must  be  valued  rationally  and  used  in  so 
far  forth  as  it  now  is  seen  to  be  the  truth. 

Later  you  will  hear  what  the  Society  has  to 
teach  about  Christianity  and  the  New  Testament, 
but  now  suffice  it  to  say  that  the  religion  of  ortho- 
dox Christianity  is  founded  on  a  dreadful  and 


CHAMBER   OP  BROKEN  IDOLS      255 

untrue  conception  of  God  and,  therefore,  this  Spir- 
itual Idol  must  also  be  broken  into  fragments." 

*  *      * 

One  who  had  been  a  sincere  believer  in  Mor- 
monism  and  knew  its  tenets  expressed  the  thought 
of  many  disciples  who  were  reared  in  that  religion 
when  he  said : 

* '  The  Society  is  undermining  the  very  founda- 
tion teachings  of  the  Mormon  Church  through  an 
attack  wThich  shows  utter  degradation  of  God  in 
the  Mormon  beliefs.  I  am  sure  our  people  who 
realize  the  truth  will  be  quicker  to  reject  the  Bible 
than  Methodists  or  Catholics." 

*  *      * 

Marie  Templeton  remarked  to  Alice  Douglas 
during  the  rest  from  reading  the  Scrolls : 

"My  soul  long  has  been  freed  from  the  awful 
conceptions  of  God  contained  in  Genesis  and  I  am 
proud  to  be  a  disciple  of  a  Society  which  demands 
exalted  spiritual  conceptions  of  the  Infinite  One." 

*  *      * 

Seated  before  the  Third  Scroll,  Marie  awaited 
the  coming  question. 


256  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


SCROLL  III. 

(IX.)  The  very  foundations  of  the  He- 
brew Religion  and  of  orthodox  Christianity 
and  of  Mormonism  rest  upon  the  supposed 
favoritism  of  God  to  Abraham  and  thereafter 
to  "his  seed." 

Do  you  believe  that  God  said  to  ' '  Abram, ' ' 
"I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee  and  curse 
him  that  curseth  thee?" 

*  *      * 

How  dark  your  soul  must  be  if  it  thus  dis- 
honors God. 

*  *      * 

Do  you  believe  that  the  Infinite  Spiritual 
Power  in  the  Universe  chose  Abraham  as  His 
favored  one  to  found  a  nation  of  God's  own 
people,  and  approved  of  his  acts  notwith- 
standing he  deliberately  and  premeditatedly 
lied  and  that  because  Pharaoh  believed  the 
lie  God  '  'plagued  Pharaoh  and  his  house  with 
great  plagues?" 

Dare  you  accuse  God  of  such  conduct? 

Your  soul  must  believe  that  God  is  infin- 
itely just,  or  you  degrade  Him;  then  how  can 
you  believe  that  He  stooped  to  such  conduct 


CHAMBER   OF  BROKEN  IDOLS      257 


in  punishing  Pharaoh,  who  was  legally  and 
morally  innocent  in  respect  to  Sarah,  Abra- 
ham's wife,  as  customs  of  mankind  then 
were. 

You  would  unhesitatingly  condemn  a  man 
who  would  thus  pervert  all  ideas  of  human 
justice,  and  yet  how  can  you  ascribe  to  God 
such  injustice? 

Would  you  not  better  say:  "It  is  not  true 
though  the  Bible  tells  it?" 


Do  you  not  know  that  Isaac  told  a  similar 
lie  through  like  moral  cowardice  and  that 
Jacob,  or  Israel,  committed  such  a  fraud  by 
lies  and  conduct  upon  his  brother  Esau  as 
would  be  severely  condemned  today? 


The  Society  of  Progress  says  to  you:  GOD 
NEVER  FAVORED  ONE  MAN  BEYOND 
ANOTHER  AND  NEVER  CHOSE  ONE 
PEOPLE  FOR  HIS  OWN  AGAINST 
OTHER  PEOPLES. 

GOD  IN  HIS  PROCESS  IS  SUPREME- 
LY IMPARTIAL. 


258  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  conclusion  of  the  segment  of  the  Scroll 
just  quoted  caused  some  doubting  amongst  disci- 
ples who  had  not  yet  comprehended  that  to  ascribe 
"favoritism"  to  God  is  to  belittle  Infinite  Justice. 

They  did  not  yet  realize  that  the  human  race 
always  has  been  one  brotherhood  in  the  climb 
along  the  Upward  Way  towards  the  highest  spir- 
ituality, notwithstanding  the  tribes  and  the  na- 
tions comprehended  it  not. 

Again  the  waiting  reader  saw  another  segment 
of  the  questions  roll  upward  into  full  view. 


(X.)  What  is  your  concept  of  the  In- 
finite One  if  you  believe  that  He  superin- 
tended the  bearing  of  children  by  many  wo- 
men, decreeing  barrenness  to  this  one  and 
removing  barrenness  from  that  one,  as  nar- 
rated in  the  Bible? 

Remember,  as  the  Bible  stories  go,  God 
"talked"  about  these  things  as  rewards  and 
punishments,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  a 
constant  occupation  from  the  many  incidents 
narrated. 

Is  your  soul  so  blind  and  degraded  as  to 
believe  this  of  God? 


The  Society  of  Progress  says  to  you  that 
barrenness  and  fertility  throughout  all  Na- 
ture's workings  arise  from  natural  conditions 
and  not  by  special  Divine  decree. 


CHAMBER   OF  BROKEN  IDOLS      259 

As  it  was  the  object  of  the  Scrolls  to  exhibit 
clearly  how  base  and  untrue  were  the  conceptions 
of  God  held  by  many  of  the  unknown  writers  and 
compilers  of  the  Bible,  it  was  not  attempted  to 
show  a  multitude  of  absurd  things  told  in  the 
Bible,  such  as  the  wholly  baseless  genealogies 
which  gave  to  Methuselah  nine  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  years,  and  to  Cainan  nine  hundred  and  ten 
years,  and  to  Jared  nine  hundred  and  sixty-two 
years,  and  to  Noah  nine  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
and  to  others  just  as  absurd  longevity.  Science 
laughs  at  such  tales  and  so  may  we. 

Throughout  the  Degrees,  Genesis  had  been  the 
target  of  the  shafts  of  Truth,  but  as  the  Third 
Scroll  rolled  upward  and  brought  another  printed 
segment  into  view  it  became  apparent  that  the 
Breaking  of  Spiritual  Idols  went  beyond  the  first 
books  of  the  Bible. 


(XI.)  Have  you  thought  in  your  hesitat- 
ing soul  that,  even  though  Genesis  should  be 
rejected,  that  still  the  other  books  of  the  Bible 
might  be  God's  word? 

Have  you  dreamed  in  your  reluctant  soul 
that,  though  the  story  of  Abraham  and  Isaac 
and  of  Jacob  contains  each  its  own  utter  con- 
demnation because  it  dishonors  God,  that  the 
"scriptures"  might  be  true  in  the  tales  of 
Moses  and  the  Exodus,  of  Samuel  and  of 
David  and  of  Solomon? 


260  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 


Have  you  hoped  in  your  enslaved  soul 
that  the  books  of  the  so-called  prophets  might 
be  spared  the  ax  of  Truth  which  destroyeth 
root  and  branch  the  Biblical  growths  which 
dishonor  The  Infinite  One? 


The  Society  of  Progress  says  to  you  that 
you  have  not  known  the  things  you  have  be- 
lieved if  you  still  dream  that  one  book  of  the 
so-called  "Holy  Bible"  shall  have  the  im- 
possible distinction  of  being  God's  word. 

Not  one,  there  is,  that  does  not  degrade 
and  dishonor  God. 


Lest  some  amongst  you  shall  say  that 
high  conceptions  of  God  are  to  be  found  in 
the  Bible,  the  Society  of  Progress  once  and 
for  all  declares  that  every  true  concept  of 
The  Infinite  One,  whether  in  the  Bible  or  in 
the  books  of  Thomas  Paine  or  of  any  other, 
shall  be  valued  and  received  though  much 
else  in  the  same  scriptural  writings  must  be 
rejected  as  dishonoring  God.  The  test  must 
be  not  whether  it  is  in  any  particular  book, 
but  whether  it  is  true. 

THE  PROCESS  OF  GOD  LEADS  TO- 
WARDS GOD  AND  WE  MUST  ACCEPT 
NOTHING  BUT  THE  HIGHEST  AND 
HOLIEST  CONCEPTIONS  OF  GOD. 


It  was  often  remarked  in  the  Council  Room  of 
the  Seven  that  very  few  of  the  disciples  had  failed 
to  learn  the  lessons  of  the  Degrees  so  thoroughly 
that  the  segment  of  the  Third  Scroll  just  quoted 
came  to  them  either  as  a  surprise  or  as  something 
to  be  questioned  or  doubted. 

As  the  Scrolls  were  intended  to  build  up  the 
highest  and  holiest  concepts  of  God  in  each  disci- 
ple, as  well  as  to  destroy  the  inherently  debasing 
concepts  of  the  Bible,  and  as  they  were  to  be  used 
in  gaining  new  disciples  for  the  Society,  they  were 
always  read  with  eager  attention. 

It  was  Darwin  Snowson  who  said  to  the  Seven : 

"The  Scrolls  necessarily  give  any  sincere  spir- 
itual personality  a  longing  for  the  consummation 
of  the  Degrees,  but  at  the  same  time  they  are  our 
strong  weapons  in  bringing  people  who  are  spirit- 
ually honest  to  our  Society  because  we  promise  a 
new  Faith  for  the  Faith  which  must  die. ' ' 

The  next  segment  ended  the  Third  Scroll  and 
was  primarily  directed  towards  Mormons  only, 
but  in  the  end  it  proved  equally  destructive  to  the 
tale  of  the  Book  of  Exodus. 


262  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


(XII.)  Do  you  believe  in  the  Mormon 
Book  of  purported  Revelations  from  God 
called  "The  Doctrines  and  Covenants," 
which  in  similitude  to  the  Biblical  preten- 
sions represents  God  as  making  revelations  to 

Joseph  Smith? 

*      *      * 

Is  your  concept  of  God  so  petty  and  so 
base  that  you  can  believe  the  alleged  revela- 
tion contained  in  Section  124  of  the  Doctrines 
and  Covenants  wherein  the  Infinite  Creator 
and  Ruler  of  the  Cosmos  is  alleged  to  have 
commanded  certain  Mormon  elders  to  build 
a  "Boarding  House"  for  the  "boarding  of 
strangers,"  and  in  which  "My  servant,  Jo- 
seph," and  his  seed  after  him,  "shall  have 
place  in  that  house  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration forever  and  ever  saith  the  Lord?" 


Do  you  believe  that  God  commanded  that 
a  stock  company  should  be  organized  for 
building  the  "Boarding  House"  and  that  cer- 
tain Mormons  named  as  "my  servants,  Vin- 
son  Knight,  Isaac  Galland"  and  others  per- 
sonally named,  should  "take  stock"  in  this 
"Boarding  House"? 

Is  it  possible  that  you  can  accuse  God  of 
making  such  mandates? 


CHAMBER  OF  BROKEN  IDOLS       263 


Can  you  believe  that  God,  as  represented 
in  the  Doctrines  and  Covenants,  again  and 
again  directed  by  revelations  to  Joseph  Smith 
the  conduct  of  petty  business  affairs  and  the 
journeyings  of  many  Mormons  and  who 
should  hold  offices  in  the  Mormon  church  and 
who  should  be  rewarded  with  lands  and  who 
should  be  punished? 

Are  you  so  blind  that  you  cannot  see  that 
such  purported  revelations  are  debasing  to 
any  high  spiritual  concept  of  the  Infinite  One? 
*  *  * 

The  Society  of  Progress  asks  every  Mor- 
mon or  descendant  of  Mormons  to  weigh  in 
the  scale  of  high  spirituality  the  trivial,  un- 
worthy things  which  the  Doctrines  and  Cove- 
nants presents  as  God's  Revelations  and 
answer  in  spiritual  honesty  whether  they  are 
not  false. 

To  that  end  you  are  admonished  that  the 
entire  Mormon  Faith  is  founded  on  the  Bible 
including  the  New  Testament  and  they  and 
the  Book  of  Mormon  and  the  Doctrines  and 
Covenants  must  fall  as  God's  inspirations 
one  with  the  other. 

*      *      * 

Now  you  who  scorn  the  pretensions  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon  and  of  the  Doctrines  and 
Covenants,  let  us  test  your  spiritual  honesty. 


264  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


You  do  not  believe  the  "Boarding  House 
revelation,"  but  do  you  believe  the  story  of 
the  midwives  as  told  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Exodus? 

"Therefore  God  dealt  well  with  the  mid- 
wives.  *  *  *  :<  And  it  came  to  pass  because 
the  midwives  feared  God  that  he  made  them 
houses." 

Do  you  say  that  this  mustn't  be  literally 
construed,  but  that  God  inspired  or  directed 
others  to  make  the  houses? 

If  so,  why  do  you  disbelieve  that  He  in- 
spired Joseph  Smith  to  direct  the  building 
of  the  "Boarding  House"? 

Await  the  further  questions  about  the 
tales  of  Exodus  before  you  defend  it.  It  is 
indefensible  and  you  must  concede  that  it  is 
so  or  dishonor  God. 


So  strong  is  inherited  faith,  it  is  said,  that 
amongst  those  who  took  the  degrees  some  few  of 
the  descendants  of  orthodox  Christians  and  also 
the  descendants  of  orthodox  Jews  felt  and  ex- 
pressed some  resentment  that  the  Mormon  "sa- 
cred" books  should  be  discussed  on  a  parity  with 
the  Jewish  "sacred  books,"  but  the  cumulative 
force  of  the  Soul-searching  Questions  gradually 
wore  away  all  such  feelings. 


CHAMBER  OF  BROKEN  IDOLS       265 

To  such  as  Marie  Templeton  the  antiquity  of 
the  Hebrew  Bible  weighed  no  more  than  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  modern  Mormon  books. 

It  was  usual  at  the  end  of  the  Third  Scroll  to 
give  each  disciple  a  copy  of  the  first  three  scrolls 
and  dismiss  him  or  her  until  the  next  day,  as  the 
Society  felt  that  the  scrolls  were  momentous  and 
the  minds  of  disciples  should  not  be  overburdened 
at  one  session. 

When  Marie  Templeton  and  Alice  Douglas 
passed  back  through  the  wonderful  bronze  gates 
and  the  door  of  the  Chamber  of  Broken  Idols,  by 
chance  Robert  Young  was  at  the  door,  and  the 
three  walked  across  the  wide  business  streets  and 
along  the  tree-shadowed  walks  of  the  city  as  they 
earnestly  discussed  the  questions  which  Marie  had 
just  been  studying. 

It  was  a  remark  of  Marie's  which  caused  Rob- 
ert to  make  sudden  resolution  not  to  await  long 
before  testing  his  belief  that  this  charming  girl  of 
the  Middle  West  was  his  fated  life  comrade. 

Marie  remarked: 

"I  am  just  beginning  to  realize  that  when  the 
next  Degree  is  finished  we  will  all  be  of  one  faith, 
worshiping  God  alike  and  working  towards  one 
end — the  uplifting  of  all  the  human  family  in  ful- 
fillment of  God's  own  Plan.  I  am  so  glad  that  it 
is  so." 

But  it  was  not  that  day  that  Robert  found  op- 
portunity to  test  his  hopes. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE  SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED 

THE  day  following  the  events  of  the  last 
chapter  found  Marie  Templeton  at  the 
home  of  Alice  Douglas  early  and  they  were 
soon  at  the  door  of  the  Chamber  of  Broken  Idols. 

Was  it  mere  coincidence  this  morning  that 
Robert  Young  was  waiting  just  within  the  door? 
We  might  give  credit  to  him  for  some  definite 
planning,  from  the  way  he  warmly  welcomed  them 
and  begged  Marie  to  go  with  him  on  a  motor  trip 
to  Ogden  Canyon,  after  the  work  of  the  Degree 
was  ended.  Robert  usually  had  his  wits  about  him 
and  a  plan  is  not  necessarily  a  plot. 

Not  anticipating  the  future,  let  us  first  go  with 
Marie  and  Alice  Douglas  into  the  Hall  of  the 
Scrolls,  where  they  soon  seated  themselves  upon 
the  high  divan  in  front  of  The  Fourth  Scroll,  and 
upon  the  button  being  pressed  a  new  question  ap- 
peared. 


266 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       267 


SCROLL  FOUR. 

(XIII.)  We  bring  you  now  to  the  Jewish 
folk  lore  about  Moses  and  the  Exodus  of  the 
Jews  from  Egypt. 

Do  you  dare  in  your  soul  to  accuse  God  of 
such  conduct  as  is  narrated  in  the  Book  of 
Exodus? 

*(?  *l*  *l* 

What  kind  of  a  God  do  you  worship  if  you 
believe  that  the  story  of  Moses  and  Pharaoh 
is  true? 

It  is  stated  in  Exodus  that  God  purposely 
"hardened"  the  heart  of  Pharaoh  again  and 
again,  then  not  only  horribly  and  cruelly  pun- 
ished Pharaoh,  but  brought  plagues,  pesti- 
lence and  death  to  every  home  in  Egypt  be- 
cause forsooth  Pharaoh  could  not  resist  God's 
hardening  process. 

Does  the  God  of  your  personality,  your 
soul,  thus  compel  human  action  and  then  pun- 
ish not  only  the  man  who  yielded  to  God's 
power,  but  thousands  of  innocent  men  and 
women  and  children  even  unto  babes  but  one 

year  old? 

*      *      * 

The  Society  of  Progress  says  to  you: 
"Oh,  brothers  of  the  race;  Oh,  sisters  of  the 
race,  do  not  accuse  God  so  basely." 


268     THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 


INFINITELY  ABOVE  ALL  FAVORIT- 
ISM, ABOVE  ALL  ANGER,  ABOVE  ALL 
CRUELTY,  ABOVE  ALL  REVENGE, 
ABOVE  ALL  JEALOUSY,  INFINITELY 
HIGHER  THAN  THE  HIGHEST  HU- 
MAN JUSTICE,  INFINITELY  GOOD  BE- 
YOND ANY  CONCEPT  WE  MAY  HAVE 
OF  GOODNESS,  GOD  RULES  HIS  UNI- 
VERSE WITHIN  A  REALM  OF  LAWS 
WHICH  DO  NOT  PICK  AND  CHOOSE  FA- 
VORED AGENTS  OR  FAVORED  PEO- 
PLES FOR  ANY  PURPOSE,  BUT  WHICH 
OPEN  WIDE  THE  DOORS  OF  SPIRITUAL 
PROGRESS  TO  THOSE  IN  ALL  THE 
WORLD  WHO  WILL  SEEK  IT. 


It  was  Mollie  Kichards  who  remarked  after  the 
seven  readings  of  this  segment  of  the  Fourth 
Scroll: 

1  'How  it  brightens  our  spiritual  life  to  feel  that 
our  Spiritual  Father  has  not  done  the  cruel,  awful 
things  the  Biblical  writers  accuse  Him  of  doine^. ' ' 

And  it  was  a  former  Mormon  of  the  "  Seven- 
ties" who  said: 

"The  Mormon  beliefs  accuse  God  as  basely  as 
the  Hebrew  scriptures.  I  am  raised  from  spirit- 
ual slavery  by  the  Society's  breaking  the  shackles 
of  such  beliefs  of  God. ' ' 

It  was  one  who  came  through  Christian  Science 
to  the  doors  of  the  Chambers  who  said: 


SIXTH  DEGREE   CONTINUED       269 

"I  know  now  that  the  better  beliefs  of  God 
taught  in  Christian  Science  are  higher  and  nobler 
than  those  of  orthodox  Christianity,  but  I  plainly 
see  that  many  shackles  of  spiritual  bondage  yet 
remain  to  be  destroyed  by  Christian  Scientists." 

When  Marie  Templeton  had  finished  the  read- 
ings, she  said  to  Alice  Douglas : 

"The  Society's  plan  of  making  each  person 
responsible  for  his  beliefs  of  God  must  arouse  the 
realms  of  orthodoxy  to  bitter  defense.  They  have 
been  too  long  content  to  rest  on  the  Bible  as  God's 
word  to  easily  overthrow  such  beliefs." 

Then  again  a  new  challenge  of  orthodoxy  ap- 
peared on  the  upward-moving  scroll : 


(XIV.)  Do  you  believe  the  pitiable  tale 
wherein  God,  through  Moses  and  Aaron,  com- 
peted with  the  "magicians"  of  Egypt  and. 
these  "sorcerers"  were  so  successful  that, 
like  Aaron  (who  performed  for  God),  they 
cast  down  a  rod  and  it  turned  into  a  serpent 
and  again  they  smote  the  river  and  all  its 
waters  were  turned  into  blood  "and  the  fish 
that  was  in  the  river  died"  and  "there  was 
blood  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt,"  and 
again  the  "magicians"  successfully  competed 
with  God  in  smiting  all  Egypt  with  a  plague 
of  frogs? 


270          THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


Will  you  say:  ''But  God  excelled  the  en- 
chanters finally?" 

1*  •*•  T* 

The  Society  of  Progress  says  to  you:  "Do 
not  dishonor  God  by  believing  such  an  im- 
possible tale.  The  narrative  of  such  a  com- 
petition is  simply  irrational  folk  lore.  Break 
to  pieces  the  Idol  of  Belief  which  degrades 
The  Infinite  One  by  thinking  He  inspired  the 
book  in  which  the  story  appears. 

5JC  5{C  S|C 

Science,  which  is  God's  true  revelations, 
tells  you  the  tale  is  also  scientifically  impos- 
sible, but  through  ignorance  some  of  you  may 
not  comprehend. 


Miracles  later  received  destructive  attention 
from  the  Society,  but  this  story  carried  its  own 
condemnation  and  the  alleged  miracles  sank  into 
the  dark  pool  of  falsehoods  against  God. 

Exodus  still  held  the  Scroll  when  the  next  seg- 
ment appeared. 


(XV.)  Do  you  dare  charge  to  God  the 
laws  He  is  reported  to  have  given  to  Moses 
dealing  out  the  death  penalty  for  many  rela- 
tively minor  offenses  and  decreeing  that 
there  shall  be  given  "an  eye  for  an  eye,  tooth 
for  tooth,  hand  for  hand  and  foot  for  foot?" 


SIXTH  DEGREE   CONTINUED       271 


Do  you  dare  accuse  God  of  making  one 
law  for  the  master  and  freemen  and  another 
for  slaves  and  servants? 


Do  you  debase  your  soul  by  believing  that 
God  decreed  that  if  a  thief  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances should  have  nothing  to  repay, 
then  he  should  be  sold  for  his  theft,  and  that 
God  otherwise  sanctioned  human  slavery? 

*  *      * 

Do  you  know  that  in  the  same  code  of 
laws  in  which  God  is  alleged  to  have  given 
the  Ten  Commandments  He  is  said  likewise 
to  have  given  the  laws  we  have  inquired 
about  and  that  the  commandment:  "Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me,"  is  cou- 
pled in  Exodus  in  the  same  laws  with  the 
terrible  decree:  "Thou  shalt  not  suffer  a 
witch  to  live?" 

*  *      * 

Magicians  and  witches  as  persons  having 
unnatural  powers  were  creations  of  ignor- 
ance, the  baser  brothers  and  sisters  of  fairies 
and  gnomes.  But  to  accuse  God  of  believing 
that  witches  exist  and  decreeing  their  death 
is  too  horrid  and  base  a  belief  for  any  civil- 
ized twentieth  century  personality. 

*  *      * 


272  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


The  Society  of  Progress  denies  the  right 
of  any  human  soul  to  accuse  God,  by  be- 
lief, that  he  inspired  the  so-called  "Mosaic 
Laws." 

A  twentieth  century  nation  which  at- 
tempted to  make  and  enforce  the  laws  God 
is  alleged  to  have  inspired  as  told  in  Exodus, 
Leviticus,  Numbers  and  Deuteronomy  would 
be  placed  outside  the  pale  of  civilization  and 
would  be  abhorred  even  by  the  orthodox;  yet, 
because  a  book  says  God  made  these  laws  the 
enslaved  souls  of  millions  of  Christians  be- 
lieve that  He  did. 

*      *      * 

THE  POWER  WHICH  MAKES  FOR 
RIGHTEOUSNESS  IS  NOT  AND  NEVER 
WAS  DEBASED,  NEVER  CRUEL,  NEVER 
CHANGEABLE.  GOD  WAS  NOT  THE 
CRUEL  MAKER  OF  THE  MOSAIC  CODE. 


The  slight  reference  to  the  Ten  Command- 
ments excited  notable  curiosity  amongst  the  disci- 
ples, for  these  commandments  and  the  "Lord's 
Prayer"  are  regarded  as  inspired  by  many  who 
do  not  believe  the  Flood  story  nor  the  Bed  Sea 
story,  nor  the  tale  of  Jonah  and  the  great  fish. 

The  next  segment  of  the  Scroll  effectually  de- 
stroyed the  idea  that  the  Ten  Commandments 
could  be  segregated  from  the  Mosaic-  Code  and 
accepted  as  God's  Mandates. 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       273 


(XVI.)  Do  you  believe  that  the  Ten 
Commandments  were  decreed  by  God  to  the 
Hebrews  through  Moses? 

*  *      * 

The  Society  of  Progress,  in  defense  of  God 
and  in  denial  of  such  beliefs,  declares  a  cer- 
tain thing  clearly  appears  which  demon- 
strates that  the  Ten  Commandments  were  not 
"Spoken"  by  God  as  the  Book  of  Exodus 
recites. 

The  alleged  commandments  within  their 
own  limits  contain  utter  condemnation  of  any 
claim  that  God  made  the  decrees. 

They  repeat  the  false  stories  of  Genesis 
that  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and 
earth,  the  sea  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and 
rested  the  seventh  day:  wherefore  the  Lord 
blessed  the  sabbath  day  and  hallowed  it." 

*  *      * 

God  could  not  inspire  a  falsehood.  Why 
should  you  seek  to  find  reasons  to  assert  Di- 
vine Inspiration  of  writings  which  within 
themselves  contain  their  own  condemnation? 

Are  you  one  of  those  who  actually  attempt 
to  find  ''EXCUSES"  FOR  GOD  to  account 
for  the  favoritism,  the  cruelty,  the  terrible 
anger,  the  vacillation  and  many  other  basely 


274          THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


human  qualities  narrated  and  ascribed  to  the 
"Lord  God"  of  the  Hebrews  in  the  Scrip- 
tures? 

YOU  WOULD  BETTER  FREE  YOUR 
SOUL  FROM  SUCH  SPIRITUAL  SLAV- 
ERY, FOR,  UNLESS  YOU  DO,  NO  TRUE 
CONCEPT  OF  THE  INFINITE  ONE  CAN 
DAWN  WITHIN  YOUR  SOUL. 


It  is  well  here  to  state  that  modern  research 
in  science,  literature  and  history  reveal  that  many 
of  the  laws  set  out  in  the  Bible  were  copied  from 
earlier  religions,  and  that  thousands  of  years  be- 
fore Moses,  amongst  the  predecessors  of  the  Chal- 
deans, a  civilization  existed  in  which  many  just 
laws  prevailed,  far  more  just  than  the  laws  of 
Moses  or  of  the  Hebrews;  also,  that  long  before 
Moses  a  day  of  rest  from  labor,  the  seventh  day, 
was  in  vogue. 

With  the  exhortation  to  the  spiritual  person- 
ality of  every  human  being  who  should  read  the 
message,  the  Scroll  ended,  and  Marie  Templeton 
changed  her  view  point  to  the  high  divan  in  front 
of  the  Fifth  of  the  Scrolls.  Unlike  the  other 
Scrolls,  this  one  was  not  set  off  in  short  discon- 
nected segments. 


SIXTH  DEGREE   CONTINUED       275 


SCROLL  FIVE. 

(XVII.)  That  you  may  not  longer  "  ex- 
cuse" yourself  in  accusing  and  excusing  God 
through  your  belief  in  the  Bible  as  God's 
inspired  word,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  the 
Society  of  Progress  asks  you  to  contemplate 
these  Bible  concepts  of  God  and  answer  to 
your  own  soul  whether  you  will  longer  be- 
lieve such  dreadful,  debased  claims  regarding 
The  Infinite  One. 

*  *      * 

Can  you  worship  a  God  who  decreed: 
"A  man  also  or  woman  that  hath  a  famil- 
iar spirit  or  that  is  a  wizard  shall  surely  be 
put  to  death;  they  shall  stone  them  with 
stones;  their  blood  shall  be  upon  them"? 
(Leviticus,  Ch.  20-27.) 

Can  you  worship  a  God  who  is  alleged  to 
have  decreed  "the  law  of  jealousies,"  where- 
by a  jealous  husband  could  subject  his  wife 
upon  mere  suspicion  to  the  humiliating  and 
absolutely  irrational  and  false  test  of  the  bit- 
ter waters?  (Numbers,  Ch.  5—11  to  31.) 

*  *      * 

Do  you  believe  the  Bible  when  it  degrades 
God  by  asserting  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
Numbers :  "And  when  the  people  complained 
it  displeased  the  Lord;  and  the  Lord  heard  it; 
and  his  anger  was  kindled;  and  the  fire  of  the 
Lord  burnt  among  them  and  consumed  them 


276  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


that  were  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
camp"? 

And  do  you  believe,  as  asserted  in  that 
chapter,  that  merely  because  the  people 
yearned  in  the  wilderness  for  the  foods  of 
Egypt,  The  Infinite  One  had  His  "anger  kin- 
dled greatly,"  and  that  when  the  people  had 
been  sent  quails  by  a  "wind  from  the  Lord," 
then,  because  they  gathered  the  quails  in 
large  numbers,  "while  the  flesh  was  yet  be- 
tween their  teeth  'ere  it  was  chewed,  the 
wrath  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  the 
people  and  the  Lord  smote  the  people  with  a 
very  great  plague"? 

How  can  you,  oh  how  can  you  accuse  God 
by  holding  such  beliefs? 

*      *      * 

Do  you  debase  your  soul  by  believing  that 
when  the  Israelites  found  a  man  that  "gath-  j 
ered  sticks  upon  the  sabbath  day"  that  God 
said  unto  Moses:    "The  man  shall  surely  be 
put  to  death;  all  the  congregation  shall  stone 
him  with  stones  without  the  camp,"  and  that  ! 
"all  the  congregation  brought  him  without  j 
the  camp  and  stoned  him  with  stones,  and  he 
died;  as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses"? 

That  mob  would  be  guilty  of  murder  today 
and  the  laws  of  civilization  would  not  recog- 
nize any  Divine  command  to  excuse  them. 

Was  God  so  much  worse  then  than  civil- 
ized men  are  now? 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED        277 


Oh,  Brothers  of  the  race!  Oh,  Sisters  of 
the  race! 

Destroy  such  awful  beliefs  of  The  Infinite 
One,  so  that  your  souls  may  be  purged  of 
every  thought  which  does  not  yield  the  most 
exalted  and  the  highest  spiritual  conceptions 

of  God. 

*      *      * 

As  your  soul  believeth  so  your  God  is;  and 
you  can  make  for  your  soul  a  Spiritual  Idol 
of  God,  who  is  ''angered"  and  horribly  cruel, 
who  "repents"  and  who  is  basely  partial 
amongst  all  of  his  spiritual  children  of  the 
human  race,  or  you  can  banish  such  degrad- 
ing conceptions  and  beliefs  from  out  your 
soul,  and  then,  in  spiritual  happiness,  you  can 
worship  the  Infinite  One  as  becometh  a  free 
soul  not  enslaved  by  the  false  tales  and  asser- 
tions of  an  ancient  book. 


Yet  again,  of  great  necessity,  we  must  go 
on  with  the  questions  which,  if  you  are  spir- 
itually honest,  you  must  answer  to  your  own 
soul. 

Are  you  spiritually  so  blind  as  to  believe 
God  "Spake  unto  Moses,  saying:  'Avenge 
the  children  of  Israel  of  the  Midianites'  *  *  *; 
'And  the  children  of  Israel  slew  all  the  males' 
and  they  'took  all  the  women  of  Midian  cap- 
tives and  their  little  ones.'  *  *  *  'And  Moses 


278  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


was  wroth  with  the  officers  of  the  host'  *  *  * 
which  came  from  the  battle  and  Moses  said 
unto  them:  "Have  ye  saved  all  the  women 
alive?"  *  *  *  "Kill  every  male  among 
the  little  ones  and  kill  every  woman  that  hath 
known  man  by  lying  with  him,  but  all  the 
women  children  that  have  not  known  a  man 
by  lying  with  him  keep  alive  for  your- 
selves?" '  "  (Numbers,  Ch.  31—1  to  18.) 

*  *      * 

Oh,  Thou  Infinite  One:  Can  it  be  that 
there  are  any  amongst  those  who  pretend  to 
worship  Thee  who  believe  of  Thee  that  Thou 
could  st  direct  such  un-God-like  cruelties,  or 
who  make  of  Thee  the  inspirer  of  the  book 
which  thus  accuseth  Thee? 

*  *      * 

Look  into  your  Soul,  each  one  of  you  who 
reads,  and  if  you  believe  the  Bible  is  God's 
book,  see  what  a  cruel,  base  Spiritual  Idol 

you  worship. 

*  *      * 

Let  us  examine  into  the  "inspired"  book 
of  Deuteronomy  and  see  how  your  Spiritual 
Idol — the  God  of  the  Hebrews — inspired  the 
"meek"  Moses,  his  favorite  with  whom  he 
"talked"  a  great  number  of  times,  and  who 
not  infrequently  was  more  merciful  than  the 
Hebrew  God,  more  than  once  persuading  that 
God  to  change  his  announced  vengeance. 


SIXTH  DEGREE   CONTINUED       279 


Do  you  believe  that  God  inspired  Moses 
to  threaten  the  Children  of  Israel  with  the 
terrible  "curses"  recited  in  the  28th  chapter 
of  Deuteronomy  from  the  15th  to  the  68th 
verses? 

''Cursed  shalt  thou  be  in  the  city  and 
cursed  shalt  thou  be  in  the  field.  *  *  Cursed 
shalt  thou  be  when  thou  comest  in  and  cursed 
shalt  thou  be  when  thou  goest  out.  The  Lord 
shall  send  upon  thee  cursing,  vexation  and 
rebuke  in  all  thou  settest  thy  hand  unto  do, 
until  thou  be  destroyed  and  until  thou  perish 
quickly.  *  *  *  The  Lord  shall  make  the 
pestilence  cleave  unto  thee  until  he  have  con- 
sumed thee  from  the  land.  *  *  *  The  Lord 
shall  smite  thee  with  a  consumption  and  a 
fever  and  with  an  inflammation  and  with  an 
extreme  burning  and  with  the  sword  and  with 
blasting.  *  *  *  The  Lord  shall  make  the 
rain  of  thy  land  powder  and  dust;  from 
heaven  shall  it  come  down  upon  the  land  until 
thou  be  destroyed.  *  *  *  The  Lord  will 
smite  thee  with  the  botch  of  Egypt  and  with 
the  emerods  and  with  the  scab  and  with  the 
itch  whereof  thou  canst  not  be  healed. "  *  * 
(and  many  more  curses  equally  base  and 
cruel) .  ' '  And  thou  shalt  eat  the  fruit  of  thine 
own  body,  the  flesh  of  thy  sons  and  daugh- 
ters" *  *  * 

And  all  this  is  to  be  done — "if  thou  wilt 
not  observe  to  do  all  the  words  of  this  law 


280  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


(The  Mosaic  Code)  that  are  written  in  this 
book  that  thou  mayest  fear  this  great  and 
glorious  name  of  THE  LORD  THY  GOD." 

Truly  the  Hebrew  God  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments must  be  deemed  (as  the  Com- 
mandments recite)  "a  jealous  God,  visiting 
the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children 
unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them 
that  hate  me. 

**"  *T"  »** 

SCIENCE,  (GOD'S  TRUE  REVELA- 
TION), laughs  at  the  "inspired"  curses  of 
Moses,  as  it  demonstrates  that  "plagues"  and 
failure  of  health  and  of  crops,  all  occur  under 
natural  law,  and  that  all  vengeance  and  cru- 
elty are  baseness  in  mankind  and  not  the 
wrath  of  God. 

3J»  5JC  *j» 

Do  you  believe  that  God's  power  over,  and 
His  protection  of  His  "chosen  people"  was 
50  feeble  that  He  permitted  them  to  offer  Him 
human  sacrifices,  as  the  Hebrews  did  con- 
stantly for  centuries?  Do  you  believe  that 
after  Jephthah  had  made  a  bargain  with  God, 
i.  e.,  "vowed  a  vow,"  God  performed  His  part 
of  the  bargain  by  enabling  Jephthah  to  smite 
the  Ammonites  "with  a  very  great  slaugh- 
ter" and  then  God  accepted  the  "burnt  offer- 
ing" on  the  altar,  not  of  a  ram,  but  of  Jeph- 
thah's  own  daughter? 


SIXTH  DEGREE   CONTINUED        281 


The  Society  of  Progress  pities  the  blind 
and  spiritual  idol-worshipping  Soul  which 
can  believe  such  things  of  the  Infinite  One. 

*  *      * 

Is  not  Elisha  one  of  the  great  prophets  of 
your  religion  who  prayed  for  and  received  a 
"double  portion"  of  the  spirit  of  Elijah? 
And  yet,  if  you  believe  the  Bible,  you  must 
perforce  believe  also  that  just  after  he  per- 
formed a  miracle,  "there  came  forth  little 
children  out  of  the  city  and  mocked  him  and 
said  unto  him,  'Go  up,  thou  baldhead,'  "  and 
then  that  Elisha  "turned  back  and  looked  on 
them  and  cursed  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  there  came  forth  two  she  bears 
out  of  the  wood  and  tare  forty  and  two  chil- 
dren of  them." 

Look  well  into  your  soul,  if  you  believe 
God  thus  honored  (?)  one  of  His  prophets. 
Such  beliefs  spell  spiritual  degradation. 

*  *      * 

What  shall  it  avail  that  the  Society  shall 
go  on  to  picture  to  your  soul  the  myriad  of 
untruths  which  other  Books  of  the  Bible  nar- 
rate of  God? 

Shall  we  copy  the  Bible  tales  of  how  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  human  race, 
men,  women  and  children,  were  slaughtered 
at  the  command  of  God? 

Shall  we  point  out  the  instances  in  the 
Bible  in  which  God  is  alleged  to  have  sane- 


282  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


tioned  polygamy  and  made  polygamists,  liars, 
lecherous  men,  and  cruel,  vengeful  men  His 
favorites? 

Shall  we  point  out  the  hundreds  of  in- 
stances wherein  God  is  represented  as  having 
His  "anger  kindled"  and  to  have  wreaked 
terrible  vengeance  upon  individual  men  and 
upon  whole  tribes  of  Israel? 

Shall  we  quote  the  vices  and  cruelties  of 
David,  "the  man  of  God,"  the  lecherous  son 
of  Jesse  or  of  many  others  of  God's  favorites? 

What  shall  it  profit  your  soul  while  it 
clings  to  its  idols  if  we  go  on  and  show  that 
the  Book  of  Job  represents  God  as  wilfully 
unjust  and  as  giving  to  Satan  the  power  to 
mentally  and  physically  torture  a  "perfect 
and  upright"  man?  What  shall  it  benefit 
your  soul  if  we  demonstrate  that  each  of  the 
so-called  prophets  constantly  degrades  God 
into  an  instrument  of  vengeance  and  of  anger 
and  of  wrath  and  of  bloodthirstiness? 

As  one  instance,  will  you  believe  the 
prophet  Amos  when  he  says  of  your  God: 

"The  Lord  God  hath  sworn  by  his  holi- 
ness, that,  lo,  the  days  shall  come  upon  you 
that  he  will  take  you  away  with  hooks  and 
your  posterity  with  fish  hooks."  (Amos, 
Chap.  4,  V.  2.) 

Is  this  inspired  by  God? 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       283 


Isaiah,  too,  dishonors  God  many  times. 
Our  quotations  are  merely  a  tithe  of  his  un- 
true declarations  respecting  God. 

"Behold  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  cruel 
both  with  wrath  and  fierce  anger  to  lay  the 
land  desolate."  (Isaiah,  Chap.  13,  v.  9.) 

"Therefore  I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and 
the  earth  shall  remove  out  of  her  place  in  the 
wrath  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  and  in  the  day  of 
his  fierce  anger."  (Id.  v.  13.) 

"Their  children  also  shall  be  dashed  to 
pieces  before  their  eyes;  their  houses  shall  be 
spoiled  and  their  wives  ravished."  (Id.  v.  16.) 

"Therefore  the  Lord  shall  have  no  joy  in 
their  young  men,  neither  shall  have  mercy  on 
their  fatherless  and  widows. ' '  (Isaiah,  Chap. 
9,  v.  17.) 

IF  YOU  BELIEVE  THESE  INSPIRED 
BY  GOD,  THEN  BLACK  INDEED  IS  YOUR 
SOUL  CONCEPT  OF  DIVINE  LOVE. 
*      *      * 

Again,  read  the  terrible  words  which  are 
put  in  the  "mouth  of  the  Lord"  in  the  fifth 
chapter  of  Ezekiel  from  verse  eleven  to  the 
end  of  the  chapter,  and  the  whole  book  of 
Ezekiel  is  full  of  like  libels  upon  the  Al- 
mighty. 

If  you  dare  to  impute  such  cruelty  to  the 
Infinite  One,  we  pity  the  spiritual  bondage 
wherein  your  personality  lies  imprisoned. 


284  THE  HUNDKEDTII  WAVE 


But  why  go  on  with  the  abominable  rec- 
ord? Read  the  books  anew  in  true  search  for 
the  things  which  a  soul  which  loves  God  and 
believes  in  Divine  Love  must  abhor  and  deny 
and  you  will  reject  every  book  of  all  the  col- 
lection. 

Shall  we  point  out  the  many  Psalms  which 
degrade  God,  mingled  with  many  which  con- 
tain higher  conceptions  of  Him? 

If  you  are  wedded  to  your  spiritual  idols, 
what  would  it  avail  should  we  show  that  to 
ascribe  the  Psalms  to  Divine  inspiration  is  to 
accuse  God  of  teaching  a  plurality  of  Gods 
and  of  likewise  teaching  that  He  is  filled  with 
emotions  and  passions  which  amongst  men  we 
now  consider  base  and  sinful. 

Oh,  Brothers  of  the  Race  of  Mankind! 

Oh,  Sisters  of  the  Soul  Kinship! 

Destroy  every  root  and  trunk  and  branch 
of  the  deadly  spiritual  upas  tree  which  poi- 
sons your  souls  with  the  base  spiritually  slav- 
ish belief  that  the  Bible  is  God's  Book. 
*      *      * 


It  was  thus  that  the  Scroll  ended  and  it  was 
often  said  amongst  the  Disciples  of  the  Society 
that  within  this  scroll  rested  the  "  DEFENSE  OF 
GOD"  which  enabled  them  to  bring  multitudes 
into  the  Chamber  of  Truth  to  learn  the  better  wis- 
dom which  the  Society  taught. 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       285 

One  who  came  through  strict  orthodoxy  to  soul 
freedom  long  before  the  Society  began  its  work 
for  spiritual  progress,  after  completing  the  seven 
readings  of  the  Scrolls,  said : 

"It  ivas  because  I  did  not  dare  to  believe  the 
awful,  debased  acts  and  mandates  which  the  Bible 
ascribes  to  God  that  I  became  an  infidel  to  any 
faith  which  is  founded  on  that  ancient  book.  I 
know  that  I  have  worshiped  The  Infinite  One  in 
immeasurably  higher  spirituality  since  I  threw  off 
the  yoke  of  my  ancestral  religion,  even  though  I 
have  been  groping  for  the  Higher  Faith  which  our 
Society  has  promised  to  disclose. " 

And  it  was  Darwin  Snowson  who  made  answer 
to  him,  saying: 

"Oh,  Brother  of  Progress!  it  has  been  mani- 
fest to  Spiritual  Evolutionists  that  amongst  intel- 
ligent orthodox  Christians  the  world  over  for  a 
long  time  the  worthiest  have  unconsciously  disbe- 
lieved that  God  is  to  be  worshiped  as  the  Jewish 
sacred  books  have  depicted  Him. 

"Unconsciously  they  have  worshiped  an  en- 
tirely different  God.  They  have  picked  out  of  the 
Bible  every  phrase  and  sentence  which  ascribes 
higher  spiritual  attributes  to  God  and  clung  to 
these  in  a  faith  which  unfortunately  magnifies  the 
book  and  fails  to  bring  to  it  the  acid  test  of  Truth. 
They  find  gold  and  fail  to  burn  away  the  dross 
which  imprisons  it. 

"To  awaken  these  souls  to  a  realization  of  how 
they  degrade  God  by  clinging  to  belief  in  the  in- 
spired character  of  the  book  is  one  of  the  missions 
of  our  Society  and  to  build  the  better  Faith  which 
worships  The  Infinite  One  as  finite  personality 


286  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

may,  in  highest  spirituality  is  the  other  great 
mission." 

When  the  disciples  were  led  from  the  Room  of 
the  Scrolls  into  the  Chamber  of  Broken  Idols 
scarce  one  but  asked  the  guide : 

"But  what  of  the  New  Testament?" 
"What  of  Christ  and  His  teachings?" 
And  to  him  or  to  her  who  asked,  the  guide  al- 
ways made  answer: 

* '  The  Society  of  Progress,  would  indeed  be  un- 
worthy of  its  great  desire  to  be  an  Institution  of 
Truth  if  it  failed  to  answer  honestly  and  fairly 
the  questions  you  have  asked,  but  before  we  ap- 
proach the  fair  valuation  of  the  New  Testament 
there  remains  the  teaching  of  the  Society  of  the 
known  origin  and  history  of  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

* '  The  intrinsic  evidence  of  the  uninspired  char- 
acter of  the  Bible  is  overwhelming,  but  it  is  added 
to  by  the  ascertained  truth  of  how  the  books  orig- 
inated. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED 

THE  Main  Hall  of  the  Chamber  of  Broken 
Idols  was  wonderfully  designed. 
Facing  the  disciples  who  gathered  for 
instruction  was  a  marvelous  mural  painting  occu- 
pying the  whole  interior  wall.    But  briefly  may  we 
glance  at  its  great  lesson. 

It  was  called  "The  Procession  of  Religions," 
and  from  left  to  right  the  Evolution  of  human 
concepts  of  God  was  depicted,  showing  the  rise  of 
the  Race  as  higher  ideas  of  God  evolved  during 

the  ages  of  the  past. 

*      #      * 

At  the  extreme  left  was  Religion  primeval. 

The  Ape-like  Man  and  his  Mate  and  their  child 
clothed  only  in  Nature's  hairiness  cowering  'neath 
a  shelf  of  rock  and  listening  with  dull  apprehen- 
sive faces  to  the  majesty  of  the  tempest,  glimpsing 
feebly  the  Power  Invisible. 

The  child  in  refuge  behind  his  crouching 
Mother,  whose  arms  encircled  him,  evidenced  the 
dawning  spiritual  growth  of  Mother  love  which 
has  been  wonderfully  potent  in  the  Evolution  of 
Religions  and  in  the  concurrent  Evolution  of  true 
Spirituality  amongst  men. 

Was  it  any  wonder  that  these  ignorant  souls 
groped  dimly  for  higher  things  in  the  early  dawn 
of  Spiritual  Evolution  at  the  very  bottom  of  the 
Upward  Way? 

287 


288  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

In  the  next  division  of  the  painting  the  wor- 
ship of  natural  objects  was  depicted  in  a  series 
of  groups  which  portrayed  not  only  fetich  wor- 
ship, but  the  higher  worship  of  spirits  imagined 
to  dwell  in  trees,  stones,  streams,  lakes,  wells, 
springs,  the  sun  and  other  natural  objects. 

Here  was  disclosed  progress  in  the  dawning 
of  the  idea  of  the  soul,  for  as  man  worked  out  a 
distinction  between  his  body  and  his  spirit,  it  was 
natural  that  he  should  endow  natural  objects  with 
a  spirit  also. 

Next  on  the  walls  appeared  groups  illustrating 
ancestor  worship,  which  strangely  enough  gave 
reverence  to  those  who  in  the  courses  of  evolution 
were  oftentimes  lower  down  the  scale  of  human 
progress  than  their  descendants. 

It  was  the  spirits  of  the  dead  which  were  wor- 
shiped. 

*  *      * 

Then  came  polytheism,  the  worship  of  many 
very  human  gods,  such  as  were  worshiped  in 
Egypt  and  Greece  and  Rome. 

In  the  paintings,  groups  of  the  gods  and  god- 
desses of  each  of  the  three  great  races  mentioned 
were  beautifully  portrayed  in  pictures  like  those 

made  by  zealots  who  worshiped  them  so  long  ago. 

*  #      * 

In  the  next  segment  appeared  the  God  of  the 
Jews,  the  Mohammedans,  the  Christians  and  the 
Mormons. 

Here  was  a  great  advance,  the  idea  of  one  su- 
preme ruler,  though  long  before  the  Hebrew  race 
arose  this  idea  prevailed  elsewhere  among  certain 
races. 


SIXTH  DEGREE   CONTINUED       289 

The  painting  showed  Jehovah  as  he  was  de- 
picted in  the  Bible,  and  included  the  curse  of 
Adam  and  Eve,  the  Deluge,  the  destruction  of  his 
enemies,  and  his  favoritism  to  the  Jewish  race  and 
to  certain  individuals. 

Then  it  displayed  the  great  white  throne,  and 
the  sending  of  certain  of  the  elect  to  dwell  amongst 
the  angels,  and  of  the  wicked  to  suffer  torture  for- 
ever in  hell. 

*      *      * 

Lastly,  came  a  beautiful  bordered  panel  in 
which  no  picture  appeared,  and  in  which  on  a  back- 
ground of  deep  blue,  in  gold  letters  appeared  this 
legend : 


"THE  INFINITE  ONE  CANNOT  BE 
DEPICTED  BY  FINITE  HANDS. 

"WE  MUST  NOT  ATTEMPT  TO  LIMIT 
THE  INFINITE  BY  WORDS  NOR  TO  POR- 
TRAY TO  FINITE  EYES  THE  INFINITE 
POWER  WHICH  IS  SUPREME  IN  THE 
UNIVERSE  AND  WHICH  "MAKES  FOR 
RIGHTEOUSNESS  IN  MANKIND." 


We  shall  not  attempt  to  summarize  the  instruc- 
tion first  given  in  the  Chamber  of  Broken  Idols. 
In  briefest  outline  it  may  be  said  that  it  clearly 
told  from  intrinsic  evidence  and  external  sources 
and  historical  data  how  many  of  the  books  of  the 


290          THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Old  Testament  were  written  at  much  later  dates 
than  they  purported  to  be  written,  and  were  the 
gathering  together  of  Jewish  traditions,  folk  lore, 
poems,  and  much  fairly  authentic  history,  embel- 
lished with  the  usual  glorification  of  kings  and 
princes. 

Written  in  ages  when  miracles  were  necessary 
to  be  invented  to  bolster  up  religion  and  rulers, 
they  unstintedly  furnished  the  miraculous  to  the 
credulity  of  all  who  accepted  the  Hebrew  faith. 

Finally,  the  instruction  frankly  acknowledged 
great  evolutional  value  in  many  of  the  better  ideas 
of  God  occurring  here  and  there  in  a  number  of 
Books  of  the  Old  Testament. 

But  the  disciples  were  also  asked  to  remember 
that  IN  THE  COURSES  OF  SPIRITUAL  EVO- 
LUTION, FORESHADOWINGS  OF  GREAT 
SPIRITUAL  TRUTHS  OFTEN  HAVE  AP- 
PEARED LONG  BEFORE  THE  ULTIMATE- 
LY CORRECT  EXPRESSIONS  OF  THESE 
TRUTHS  HAVE  FINALLY  SUPERSEDED 
THE  LESS  TRUTHFUL  FORESHADOW- 
INGS. 

*      *      * 

After  the  instruction  regarding  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was  completed,  the  disciples  were  conducted 
from  the  main  hall  into  another  connecting  room 
which  was  in  all  respects  a  duplicate  in  form  of 
the  Room  of  the  Scrolls,  but  which  was  distin- 
guished from  it  by  the  different  tints  of  the  walls 
and  by  the  fact  that  the  scrolls  which  it  also  con- 
tained were  deep  red,  though  the  letters  upon  the 
scrolls  were  pure  white,  like  the  letters  on  the  deep 
blue  scrolls  of  the  other  room. 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       291 

This  room  was  called  "The  Boom  of  Opened 
Eyes,  and  as  the  imprinted  deep  red  segment 
of  former  Christians  became  so  clear  and  true 
that  never  again  could  they  believe  any  of  the 
Christian  creeds. 

Let  us  go  with  Marie  Templeton  to  the  divan 
in  front  of  the  first  Scroll  in  the  Boom  of  Opened 
Eyes,  and  as  the  unprinted  deep  red  segment 
moves  upward  and  is  superseded  by  a  message  to 
the  disciples,  let  us  see  what  the  eyes  of  each  disci- 
ple beheld. 


SCROLL  1.  (1.) 

ANCIENT  LEGENDS. 

In  some  ancient  legends  about  a  great 
moral  teacher — the  Master  of  a  great  relig- 
ion— which  legends  appear  in  the  sacred 
books  of  that  religion,  these  things  are  taught 
as  the  truth  to  the  followers  of  the  religion. 

(a)  That  he  was  omniscient  and  absolutely 

sinless; 

(b)  That  he  was  not  born  as  ordinary  men 

are;  that  he  had  no  earthly  father; 
that  he  descended  of  his  own  accord 
into  his  mother's  womb  from  his 
throne  in  heaven; 

(c)  That  he  gave  unmistakable  signs,  imme- 

diately after  his  birth  of  his  high 
character  and  of  his  future  greatness; 


292  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 


(d)  That  earth  and  heaven  at  his  birth 

united  to  pay  him  homage;  the  very 
trees  bent  of  their  own  accord  over 
his  mother,  and  the  angels  and  arch- 
angels were  present  with  their  help; 

(e)  That  his  mother  was  the  best  and  purest 

of  the  daughters  of  men; 

(f)  That  at  his  conception,  thirty-two  signs 

took  place;  the  10,000  worlds  were 
filled  with  light;  the  blind  received 
their  sight;  the  deaf  heard;  the  dumb 
spoke;  the  crooked  became  straight; 
the  lame  walked;  the  imprisoned  were 
set  free,  and  so  on;  all  nature  bloomed 
and  all  beings  in  earth  and  heaven 
were  filled  with  joy,  while  even  the 
fires  of  hell  were  extinguished  and 
the  tortures  of  the  damned  were  miti- 
gated. 

(g)  At  the  time  of  his  birth,  an  aged  saint 

came  down  from  the  mountains  and 
prophesied  that  the  child  would  be- 
come a  Divine  Master;  and  seven  wise 
men  also  came  from  a  distance  and 
made  homage  to  him  and  also  prophe- 
sied that  he  would  become  a  Divine 
Religious  Master; 

One  of  the  Seven  proclaimed  that 
he  would  "REMOVE  THE  VEILS 
OF  SIN  AND  IGNORANCE  FROM 
THE  WORLD": 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       293 


(h)  It  is  recorded  in  one  of  the  Sacred  books 
that  while  he  was  yet  a  mere  baby, 
he  went  into  a  trance  under  a  tree 
which  miraculously  shaded  him, 
though  the  shadows  of  the  other  trees 
had  turned  away,  and  that  five  angels 
flying  through  the  air  were  miracu- 
lously stopped  as  they  passed  above 
him; 

That  they  sang  stanzas  in  his 
praise,  saying  that  he  was  the  Water 
appearing  in  the  midst  of  the  fires  of 
Sin  devouring  the  World;  THE 
LIGHT  APPEARING  IN  THE 
DARKNESS  OF  THE  WORLD'S 
IGNORANCE;  the  Ship  appearing 
amidst  the  perils  of  the  ocean  of  hu- 
man misery;  THE  LIBERATOR  OF 
THOSE  ENCHAINED  IN  THE 
BONDS  OF  SIN;  the  Physician  of 
those  tormented  by  decay  and  disease, 

And  that  BY  HIM  WOULD  BE 
OBTAINED  THE  TRUTH  WHICH 
WOULD  BE  THE  SALVATION  OF 
SENTIENT  BEINGS. 

(i)  So,  too,  these  legends  record  that  in  his 
youth  he  surpassed  all  in  prowess 
AND  TAUGHT  EVEN  HIS  MAS- 
TERS. 


294  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


(j)     In  fulfillment  of  these  prophetic  sayings 
it  is  told  in  one  of  the  sacred  books, 
that  during  his  life,  even  at  his  ap- 
pearance, the  sick  were  healed,  the 
deaf  were  cured,  the  blind  saw  and 
the  poor  were  relieved. 
He  visited  a  certain  sick  man  and 
healed  his  soul  as  well  as  his  body. 
He  wrought  many  miracles. 
He   multiplied   food — shall   we   say 
"Seven  loaves  and  seven  small  fishes 
to  feed  a  multitude"? 
He  walked  on  the  water  and  stilled 
the  tempest. 

Where  one  was  lying  at  the  point  of 
death,  he  laid  hands  on  him  and 
healed  him. 

(k)    He  was  transfigured  on  a  mountain. 

(1)  He  was  tempted  by  the  Evil  One  to  give 
up  his  mission  and  was  promised  do- 
minion over  "The  Four  Great  Conti- 
nents." 

(m)  Once  he  fasted  for  seven  days  and  nights 
when  a  great  archangel  came  and 
ministered  unto  him. 

(n)  He  preached  a  wonderful  sermon  advo- 
cating the  pure  and  perfect  life, 
which  has  been  called  a  "Sermon  on 
the  Mount." 

(o)  He  spoke  in  many  wise  and  remarkable 
parables. 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       295 


(p)  He  foretold  his  death  and  prophesied 
that  he  would  appear  after  his  death, 
and  did  appear  many  times. 

(q)  He  taught  what  was  called  the  "Noble 
Eight  Fold  Path,"  that  is  to  say: 
"Right  Views,  Right  Aspirations, 
Right  Speech,  Conduct  and  Mode  of 
Living;  Right  Effort,  Right  Mindful- 
ness,  and  Right  Rapture." 

(r)  He  condemned  evil  desires,  low  ideals, 
useless  cravings  and  idle  excitements. 
He  said  that  the  three  cardinal  sins 
were  sensuality,  ill  will  and  spiritual 
stupidity  or  dullness. 

(s)  He  taught  love  without  measure  to  all 
beings,  saying,  "Cultivate  towards 
the  whole  world  —  above,  below, 
around — a  heart  of  love  unstinted, 
unmixed  with  sense  of  differing  or 
opposite  interests." 

(t)  As  Four  "Sublime  Conditions"  he 
taught,  "They  are  Love,  Sorrow  at 
the  Sorrows  of  others,  Joy  in  the  Joy 
of  others,  and  Equanimity  as  regards 
one's  own  joys  and  sorrows." 

(u)  Thus  also  spake  he:  "Our  mind  shall 
not  waver,  No  evil  speech  shall  we 
utter,  Tender  and  compassionate  will 
we  abide,  loving  in  heart,  void  of  mal- 
ice within,  And  we  will  ever  be  suf- 
fusing such  a  one  with  the  rays  of  our 


296  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


loving  thought,  and  with  that  feeling 
as  a  basis,  we  will  ever  be  suffusing 
the  whole  wide  world  with  thoughts 
of  love,  far  reaching,  grown  great,  be- 
yond measure,  void  of  anger  or  ill 
will." 

(v)    He  taught  that  every  seventh  day  should 
be  a  fast  day  for  the  special  observ- 
ance of  moral  precepts. 
Also,  he  taught  many  other  lofty  ideals. 
WAS   JESUS    OF    NAZARETH    THIS 
GREAT  SPIRITUAL  MASTER?     Oh,  no! 
All  these  things  were  recorded  of  another, 
centuries  before  Jesus  was  born,  and  that 
other  was  born  eastward  of  Palestine  more 

than  500  years  before  the  birth  of  Jesus. 

*      *      * 

OP  "THE  GREAT  LORD  BUDDHA" 
WERE  ALL  THESE  LEGENDS  WRIT- 
TEN, IN  THE  BIBLES  OF  THE  BUD- 
DHISTS, SEVERAL  CENTURIES  PRIOR 
TO  THE  TIME  THE  STRIKINGLY  SIMI- 
LAR LEGENDS  OF  JESUS  WERE 
WRITTEN  IN  THE  BOOKS  CALLED  BY 
CHRISTIANS  "THE  NEW  TESTAMENT." 

•I*  t»  *T" 

DID  THE  BUDDHISTS,  CENTURIES 
BEFORE  CHRIST,  PROPHETICALLY 
ADOPT  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  TALES 
ABOUT  JESUS,  OR  WERE  THE  LEG- 
ENDS OF  BUDDHA  COMPETITIVELY 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       297 


ENGRAFTED  INTO  THE  BOOKS  CALLED 
"THE  FOUR  GOSPELS"? 

CAN  THERE  BE  BUT  ONE  ANSWER? 


The  Society  of  Progress  says  to  you  that 
whatever  Buddha  taught  which  is  truth  with- 
in the  Divine  Plan,  and  also  whatever  Jesus 
taught  which  will  stand  the  test  of  truth,  be- 
long to  the  march  of  humanity  along  the  Up- 
ward Way,  but  the  Society  denies  that  either 
the  "Testaments"  of  Buddha's  life  and  mis- 
sion or  the  "Testament"  of  the  life  and  mis- 
sion of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  can  in  any  way  be 
taken  as  Divinely  inspired. 


The  Society  of  Progress  denies  utterly  any 
miraculous  birth  of  any  man,  whether  it  be 
Buddha,  or  Jesus,  or  any  one  of  a  multitude 
of  others  to  whom  it  has  been  ascribed  in  the 
religious  teachings  and  sacred  writings  of 
many  nations. 

In  the  days  of  superstition  and  credulity 
such  claims  were  deemed  essential  to  uphold 
that  the  "Masters"  of  a  religion,  and  popular 
heroes,  and  even  kings  and  emperors  were  di- 
vinely conceived  or  were  actual  sons  of  God. 

Now,  Science — the  Truth — with  God's 
laws  as  its  teacher,  and  with  the  Divine  Plan 


298  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


clearly  in  vision,  says  to  you  that  the  Infinite 
One  denies  the  legend  of  the  miraculous  birth 
of  Buddha,  and  also  denies  the  same  legend 
adopted  by  the  person  or  persons  who,  at 
some  later  date,  engrafted  it  upon  the  orig- 
inal traditions  respecting  the  life  and  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

All  conceptions  and  births  of  all  men  at 
all  times  have  been  the  result  of  nature's 
processes.  Only  ignorance  or  hypocrisy  as- 
serts the  contrary. 


Startlingly  few  of  the  disciples  knew  aught  of 
the  legends  respecting  Buddha  or  about  the  nature 
of  his  religious  teachings,  and  though  many  of 
them  had  learned  that  the  authorship  of  much 
that  is  contained  in  the  four  gospels  was  of  very 
uncertain  origin,  it  came  as  a  surprise  that  appar- 
ently numerous  incidents  and  legends  of  the  four 
gospels  had  been  ''borrowed"  from  the  sacred 
books  of  Buddhism. 

The  denials  of  the  Society  were  impartial  be- 
tween Buddhism  and  Christianity.  Science  knows 
no  prejudice  in  the  consideration  of  the  claims  of 
any  class  of  religionists. 

The  deep  interest  engendered  by  the  first  scroll 
of  ' '  The  Room  of  Opened  Eyes ' '  naturally  led  to 
eager  perusal  of  the  Second  Scroll. 


SIXTH  DEGREE   CONTINUED       299 


SCROLL  2. 

GOD  COULD  NOT  HAVE  INSPIRED 
THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    FOR    MANY 

REASONS. 

First:  Aside  from  the  palpable  adoption  of 
the  Buddhistic  legends,  the  books  contain 
assertions  respecting  God  which  free 
souls,  unbound  from  the  chains  of  Spirit- 
ual slavery,  cannot  accept  as  the  truth. 

Second:  Jesus,  the  great  religious  Master, 
taught  many  of  the  current  religious  be- 
liefs of  his  time  which  we  now  know  are 
false,  and  that  we  would  dishonor  God  by 
believing  them. 

Third:  Besides  contradicting  each  other  in 
essential  matters,  the  books  bear  much  in- 
ternal evidence  that  they  are  not  divinely 
inspired. 

Fourth:  The  fundamental  conception  of  the 
entire  Christian  faith — the  sacrifice  of  the 
life  of  Jesus  that  whosoever  believed  in 
him  should  have  eternal  life — is  based  on 
a  conception  of  the  relation  of  God  to  hu- 
manity which  is  false  and  dishonors  God. 


The  second  scroll  was  in  segments,  and  it  is 
recorded  in  the  archives  of  the  Chamber  of  Coun- 
cil that  Zora  Wells  in  characteristic  phraseology, 
remarked,  after  reading  the  first  segment: 


300  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"I  think  it  must  be  reasonably  plain  that  if 
the  assertions  we  have  just  studied  are  fairly  es- 
tablished, then  the  New  Testament  must  follow 
the  old  into  the  museum  of  discarded  religious 
teachings.  I'm  sure  I  do  not  want  a  religion 
which  is  based  on  all  those  dreadful  things." 

Aunt  Alice  Douglas  heard  the  statement  and 
replied: 

"Zora,  when  the  really  good  women  who  cling 
to  the  Christian  Faith  learn  the  truth  about  the 
Bible,  including  the  New  Testament,  they  will  feel 
just  as  you  do  and  will  seek  the  religion  which  is 
based  on  all  truth." 

When  Marie  Templeton,  college  alumna,  had 
read  the  broad  assertions,  she  turned  to  Robert 
Young  and  said: 

"I  have  followed  the  research  work  which  is 
called  the  'Higher  Criticism'  and  I  believe  that 
great  numbers  of  those  who  have  studied  the  Bible 
with  intelligence  and  desire  to  learn  the  truth 
about  it,  and  have  weighed  the  internal  and  ex- 
ternal evidence  of  how  and  when  the  books  origi- 
nated and  have  applied  honest  reasoning  and  re- 
search to  the  assertions  of  the  books,  as  soon  as 
a  religion  based  on  scientific  truth  is  brought  to 
their  knowledge,  will  welcome  it  gladly,  because 
they  must  feel  that  the  Bible  is  not  true. ' ' 

Robert  answered  her: 

"Our  Society  had  its  origin  in  that  belief  re- 
specting intelligent,  spiritually  honest  Mormons, 
and  of  course  it  is  broadly  true  of  all  religionists 
of  the  Christian  and  Jewish  faiths." 

The  upward  rolling  scroll  brought  another  seg- 
ment before  the  watching  disciples: 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED   301 


GOD  COULD  NOT  HAVE  INSPIRED 
BOTH  THE  BOOK  CALLED  "THE  GOS- 
PEL ACCORDING  TO  ST.  MATTHEW" 
AND  THE  BOOK  CALLED  "THE  GOSPEL 
ACCORDING  TO  ST.  LUKE,"  BECAUSE 
THEY  CONTRADICT  EACH  OTHER.  GOD 
DOES  NOT  INSPIRE  UNTRUTH. 
#  *  # 

In  order  to  fulfill  some  fancied  necessity, 
the  person  who  attached  the  first  chapter  of 
Matthew  to  the  original  tradition,  about 
Jesus  and  his  teachings,  which  tradition  is 
ascribed  to  Matthew,  deemed  it  desirable  to 
have  a  pedigree,  a  genealogical  record,  which 
would  show  that  Jesus  was  a  direct  lineal  de- 
scendant of  King  David. 

It  is  palpable  that  the  idea  was  to  con- 
nect Jesus  with  certain  Old  Testament  proph- 
ecies, which  predicted  that  the  "Messiah" 
would  be  of  the  "blood  of  David." 

The  same  fancied  necessity  also  spurred 
the  inventive  faculties  of  the  person  who 
wrote  the  third  chapter  of  Luke;  but,  alas  for 
any  claim  of  truth,  the  genealogy  of  Matthew 
is  substantially  unbelievable,  while  that  of 
Luke  contradicts  that  of  Matthew  and  con- 
tains inherent  untruth,  which  clearly  estab- 
lishes that  God  could  not  have  inspired  it. 


302  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


IN  THE  BOOK  OF  MATTHEW,  28 
NAMES  OF  GENERATIONS  ARE  GIVEN 
TO  CONNECT  KING  DAVID  WITH  JESUS 
(INCLUDING  BOTH)  BY  DIRECT  LINE 
OF  DESCENT,  WHILE  IN  THE  BOOK  OF 
LUKE  43  NAMES  ARE  GIVEN  TO  AC- 
COMPLISH THE  SAME  PROPHETIC 
NECESSITY. 

ALAS  FOR  VERITY!! 

ONLY  TWO  OF  THE  NAMES  ARE 
THE  SAME  IN  EACH  LIST  AFTER  EX- 
CLUDING DAVID,  JOSEPH  THE 
FATHER  OF  JESUS,  AND  JESUS,  AND 
EACH  LIST  PURPORTS  TO  GIVE  ALL 

THE  GENERATIONS. 

*  *      * 

ARE  THESE  "THE  WORD  OF  GOD" 
OR  "REVEALED"  BY  GOD  OR  "IN- 

SPIRED" BY  GOD? 

*  #      * 

BIND  NOT  YOUR  SOUL  WITH  THE 
CHAINS  OF  A  SPIRITUAL  SLAVERY 
WHICH  BLINDLY  REFUSES  TO  REJECT 

UNTRUTH. 

*  *      * 

The  genealogy  appearing  in  Luke  was 
not  content  to  go  back  to  David  and  then  to 
Abraham,  but  in  order  to  give  greater  value 
to  its  fiction,  it  traced  the  blood  in  Jesus' 
veins  which  came  through  his  father  Joseph 
the  carpenter,  straight  back  through  the 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       303 


fictitious  generations  of  the  fifth  chapter  of 
Genesis  to  the  mythical  "Adam"  which  was 
the  Son  of  God."  (Luke  3,  38.) 

AS  THE  MYTHS  OF  ADAM  AND  EVE 
AND  THE  DESCENT  OF  ABRAHAM 
FROM  THEM  ARE  UNTRUE,  SO  IS  THE 
FICTITIOUS  GENEALOGY  OF  THE 
BOOK  OF  LUKE. 

The  sinister  fact  about  both  the  geneal- 
ogies is  that  they  flatly  contradict  the  "im- 
maculate conception"  because  they  assert 
that  the  blood  of  David  flowed  in  Jesus'  veins 

through  Joseph,  the  husband  of  Mary. 

*      *      * 

But  it  may  be  said  that  neither  the  ficti- 
tious genealogies  nor  the  untrue  tales  of  the 
"immaculate  conception"  of  Jesus  have 
aught  to  do  with  his  teachings,  and  save  as 
he  claimed  to  be  a  "Son  of  God"  the  state- 
ment has  a  certain  validity,  but  it  will  be 
shown  that  the  teachings  of  Jesus  and  the 
legends  of  his  life  are  in  many  respects  as 
untrue  as  the  stories  of  his  birth  and  of  his 
lineage. 

As  Thomas  Paine  says  in  his  "Age  of 
Reason," 

"THE  NEW  TESTAMENT,  THEY 
TELL  US,  IS  FOUNDED  UPON  THE 
PROPHECIES  OF  THE  OLD;  IF  SO,  IT 
MUST  FOLLOW  THE  FATE  OF  ITS 
FOUNDATION." 


304  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Of  the  sayings  of  the  disciples  of  Progress  re- 
specting the  genealogical  segment  of  the  scroll, 
we  may  quote  one  by  Mollie  Eichards: 

*  *  Orthodox  Christians  generally  are  not  aware 
of  the  untruth  of  the  genealogies.  It  is  never 
taught  in  Sunday  Schools  except  where  liberality 
has  superseded  orthodoxy.  Perhaps  ere  long, 
Christians  will  be  forced  to  discuss  the  truth  of 
many  things  narrated  in  the  New  Testament. ' ' 

Darwin  Snowson  replied: 

"Some  great  trumpet  blast  of  truth  is  needed 
to  arouse  the  enslaved  souls  of  followers  of  ortho- 
doxy to  a  realization  that  their  religion  is  founded 
on  untruth. 

"When  the  sound  of  truth  pervades  Christen- 
dom, some  of  them  will  still  deliberately  shut  out 
truth,  and  many  will  for  the  first  time  begin  to 
realize  the  untrue  things  about  God  which  con- 
demn as  false  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

"It  may  be  that  through  the  teachings  of  our 
Society  a  lot  of  the  best  people  in  the  world  will 
learn  that  they  have  been  dishonoring  the  Infinite 
One  by  slavishly  accepting  the  Bible  as  his  word. '  ' 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       305 


EDUCATED  CHRISTIANS  OF  TODAY 
TO  A  LARGE  EXTENT  DO  NOT  BELIEVE 
VERY  MUCH  WHICH  THE  LEGENDS  OF 
JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  REPRESENT 
THAT  HE  DID  AND  TAUGHT. 
#  *  * 

SPIRITUAL  AND  INTELLECTUAL 
EVOLUTION  HAS  UPLIFTED  MILLIONS 
OF  HUMAN  BEINGS  FAR  ABOVE  MANY 
OF  THE  IGNORANT  SPIRITUAL  AND 
SCIENTIFIC  IDEAS  HELD  BY  JESUS 
AND  HIS  COTEMPORARIES. 


Many  Christians  who  are  honest  and 
really  desire  to  know  the  truth  have  uncon- 
sciously grown  away  from  the  belief  in  many 
vital  things  taught  by  Jesus,  but  because 
they  have  not  cleared  their  spiritual  vision, 
they  do  not  realize  how  far  they  have  evolved 
spiritually  above  the  ideas  and  teachings 
they  once  deemed  inspired  and  sacred. 


WE  WILL  BRING  YOU  TO  YOUR  BE- 
LIEFS AND  EXPECT  YOU  TO  BE  FEAR- 
LESSLY HONEST  AND  TO  ATTEMPT  NO 
EXCUSES  AND  NO  EVASIONS. 


306  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

In  Andrew  D.  White's  remarkable  work,  "The 
Warfare  of  Science  with  Theology  in  Christen- 
dom," it  is  clearly  shown  that  the  Spiritual 
slavery  which  regarded  the  Bible,  including  the 
New  Testament,  as  literally  "God's  Word"  led 
to  cruelties  unspeakable  during  the  "Dark  Ages" 
of  Christian  history. 

Any  soul  seeking  the  light  would  do  well  to 
read  the  two  volumes,  because  soul  freedom  will 
receive  strong  impulses  from  the  knowledge  to  be 
gleaned  from  the  books. 

The  Society  of  Progress  did  not  attempt  to 
summarize  the  historical  results  of  the  belief  in 
the  literal  inspiration  of  the  Bible. 

Apparently  the  Society  was  content  to  chal- 
lenge orthodoxy  on  the  highest  grounds  only. 

Out  of  the  falseness  of  the  sacred  books  should 
come  their  own  condemnation.  They  dishonor 
God,  therefore  they  are  not  the  Truth. 

Of  course,  no  disciple  of  the  Society  was  sur- 
prised by  the  message  on  the  closing  segment  of 
the  Second  Scroll. 

In  front  of  Scroll  Three,  the  disciples  awaited 
the  disclosures  respecting  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and 
the  uprolling  message  came  slowly  into  view. 


SIXTH  DEGREE   CONTINUED       307 


SCROLL  3. 

AS  DID  OTHER  JEWISH  RELIGIOUS 
TEACHERS  OF  HIS  TIME  JESUS  BE- 
LIEVED IN  ETERNAL  PUNISHMENT  OF 
THE  WICKED  IN  A  HELL  OF  EVER- 
LASTING FIRE  AND  BELIEVED  THAT 
SATAN  EXISTED  AND  TEMPTED  MAN- 
KIND TO  DO  EVIL. 

*  *      * 

AS  OUR  RACE  HAS  EVOLVED 
SPIRITUALLY  DURING  THE  LAST 
THREE  CENTURIES  THERE  HAS  COME 
TO  THOSE  WHO  SOUGHT  THE  SPIRIT- 
UAL SECRETS  OF  THE  UNIVERSE,  REV- 
ELATIONS OF  GOD  WHICH  ARE  SU- 
PREMELY ABOVE  THE  IDEAS  OF 
JESUS  AND  OF  THE  JEWS  GENER- 
ALLY. 

TO  ACCUSE  GOD  OF  PUNISHING 
ANY  PERSONALITY,  HOWEVER 
WICKED  IT  MAY  HAVE  BEEN  WHILE 
ON  EARTH,  WITH  ETERNAL  PAIN  AND 
MISERY  IS  SPIRITUAL  SAVAGERY. 

IT  DEGRADES  GOD,  AND  THE  SOUL 
THAT  BELIEVES  IT  OF  GOD  IS  IN 
SPIRITUAL  DARKNESS. 

*  *      * 

It  was  not  spiritual  degradation  for  Jesus 
and  the  Jews  to  believe  these  things,  because 


308  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

*o*m*t^~t          ..y. 

neither  he  nor  they  had  evolved  far  enough  j 
along  the  Upward  Way  to  discern  that  they  j 
were  dishonoring  the  Almighty  by  such  be- 
liefs. 

BUT  FOR  YOU  AND  ME  IT  IS  MORAL 
DEBASEMENT. 

*  *      * 

Thrice  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  Jesus 
taught  that  hell  is  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked. 

"Whosoever  shall  say  (unto  his  brother) 
Thou  Fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  hell  fire." 
(Matthew  5,  22.) 

"And  if  thy  right  eye  offend  thee,  pluck 
it  out  and  cast  it  from  thee;  for  it  is  profitable 
for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members  should 
perish  and  not  that  thy  whole  body  should 
be  cast  into  hell."  (Matthew  5,  29.) 

The  same  statement  is  made  also  in  the 

next  verse. 

*  *      * 

The  Jews  generally,  at  that  time,  believed 
in  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  that  the 
good  went  to  Heaven  to  receive  "rewards" 
from  God  and  the  wicked  went  to  hell  to 
receive  eternal  punishment. 

Jesus  was  a  Jew  and  followed  the  Jewish 
ideas. 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       309 


Now,  the  Society  of  Progress  well  knows 
that  many  of  you  who  cling  to  orthodox 
Christianity  will  at  once  start  out  to  say  that 
"Christ"  spoke  figuratively,  and  some  will 
even  to  dare  to  clank  the  chains  of  their  soul 
slavery  and  chant  the  creeds  of  orthodoxy, 
which  the  Roman  Catholic,  the  Protestant 
Episcopalian,  and  the  Presbyterian  sects  of 
Christianity  glory  in. 

Let  us  go  on  and  be  honest  at  least. 


"And  fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body 
and  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul  (in  some  ap- 
plications, a  great  teaching  even  for  the 
Twentieth  Century),  but  rather  fear  him 
which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body 
in  hell."  (Matthew  10,  28.) 

As  therefore  the  tares  are  gathered  and 
burned  in  the  fire  so  shall  it  be  in  the  end  of 
the  world. 

"The  Son  of  Man  (The  Loving  Jesus) 
shall  send  forth  his  angels,  and  they  shall 
gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that 
offend  and  them  which  do  iniquity; 

"And  shall  cast  them  into  a  furnace  of 
fire;  there  shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of 
teeth."  (Matthew  14,  40-42.) 


310  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"So  shall  it  be  at  the  end  of  the  world; 
the  angels  shall  come  forth  and  sever  the 
wicked  from  among  the  just, 

"And  shall  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of 
fire:  There  shall  be  wailing  and  gnashing  of 
teeth."  (Matthew  14,  49-50.) 

*  *      * 

Is  there  a  human  soul  which  either  in  its 
own  self -righteousness,  or  which  deems  itself 
"redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ," 
which  does  not  shrink  in  horror  at  the 
thought  of  such  punishment  for  even  the 
most  wicked? 

Are  you  better  or  less  cruel  than  the  In- 
finite One? 

*  #      * 

It  is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into  life  halt 
or  maimed  rather  than  having  two  hands  or 
two  feet  to  be  cast  into  everlasting  fire." 

«*  *  *  It  is  better  for  thee  to  enter 
into  life  with  one  eye,  rather  than  having  two 
eyes,  to  be  cast  into  hell  fire."  (Matthew  18, 
8-9.) 

The  same  teachings  are  reported  in  Mark, 
Ch.  9,  v.  43-47. 

"Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers, 
how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell." 
(Matthew  23,  33.) 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       311 


"Then  shall  he  (The  Son  of  Man— the 
loving  Jesus)  say  also  unto  them  on  the  left 
hand  (the  spiritual  'goats'),  'depart  from 
me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  (And  Jesus 
believed  the  resurrected  bodies  should  suffer 
thus.)  (Matthew  25,  41.) 

"And  these  (the  wicked — the  uncharit- 
able) shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment; but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal." 
(Matthew  25,  46.) 

Even  the  author  of  Daniel  was  kinder 
than  was  Jesus  to  the  morally  weak  and  the 
morally  base  children  of  God's  great  Plan, 
for  he  made  the  punishment  a  spiritual 
punishment  and  did  not  threaten  them  with 
eternal  bodily  torture. 

"And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust 
of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting 
life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  con- 
tempt." (Daniel  12,  2.) 


THE  IDEA  THAT  GOD  WILL  DEAL 
OUT  EVERLASTING  PUNISHMENT  OF 
ANY  NATURE  TO  ANY  HUMAN  PER- 
SONALITY IS  TOO  BASE  A  BELIEF  FOR 
ANY  SOUL  WHICH  TRULY  LOVES  GOD. 


312  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Here  the  uprolling  scroll  brought  into  view  an 
imprinted  deep  red  segment,  and  at  this  pause  in 
the  instruction  let  us  listen  to  some  of  the  re- 
marks of  the  disciples  upon  "Hell." 

Marie  Templeton  expressed  an  opinion  which 
represents  the  present  attitude  of  many  educated 
persons : 

' '  In  the  past,  and  even  now  under  some  creeds, 
the  priests  confronted  the  ignorant  with  threats 
of  eternal  physical  torture  after  death  in  order  to 
gain  power  over  their  poor  deluded  followers,  and 
fictitious  absolution  from  such  tortures  too  often 
has  been  given  for  the  payment  of  money  to  the 
priests,  or  burnt  offerings  which  the  priests  ate. 

"Education  has  always  meant  emancipation 
from  such  ideas  and  rejection  of  such  priestly 
powers,  and  surely  education  to  the  knowledge 
that  it  dishonors  God  to  hold  such  beliefs  of  His 
cruelty  to  any  creature  of  His  Process  will  event- 
ually free  all  the  world." 

Robert  Young  answered: 

"Science  has  forever  quenched  the  flames  of 
hell. 

"The  knowledge  that  under  God's  laws,  the 
individual  human  machine,  which  personality 
uses  during  life,  after  death  goes  into  chemical 
changes  which  may  fertilize  a  flower  or  enrich 
the  soil,  but  in  no  event  can  ever  re-assemble  to 
be  the  habitation  of  the  nervous  system  of  the 
same  personality  which  once  occupied  it,  or  any 
other  personality,  reveals  to  all  who  care  to  study 
the  truth,  that  it  was  man's  inhumanity  which 
created  Hell,  and  not  the  supreme  love  and  mercy 
of  The  Infinite  One. 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       313 

"Our  personalities,  our  souls,  survive  the  dis- 
solution of  the  body,  but  souls  cannot  feel  the  per- 
petual hell  fire  Jesus  ignorantly  believed  in. ' ' 

One  who  came  through  Christian  Science  said: 

"I  realize  now  that  the  doctrines  of  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body  and  eternal  physical  punishment 
were  taught  by  Jesus  because  they  were  the  cur- 
rent belief  of  his  days  and  his  environment,  but, 
really,  no  Christian  Scientist  believes  that  God 
could  be  guilty  of  such  unspeakable  cruelty. 

"I  guess  Christian  Scientists  have  evolved 
away  from  the  baser  ideas  of  God  which  Jesus 
held  and  taught  and  are  really  far  on  the  way  to 
the  better  religion  our  Society  promises  to  teach 
us." 

Darwin  Snowson  replied  thus : 

"A  little  later  in  our  instruction  we  will  find 
a  tribute  to  those  who,  under  one  denominational 
name  or  another,  have  idealized  some  of  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus,  and  thereby  advanced  spiritually  to 
heights  which  Jesus  could  not  reach  in  his  day 
and  age." 

The  next  segment  of  the  Scroll  continued  the 
lesson  of  the  first. 


314  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

CENTURIES       BEFORE      JESUS  | 

TAUGHT  IN  GALILEE  THE  JEWS  HAD  \ 

BORROWED    FROM     THE     RELIGIOUS  | 

TEACHINGS    OF    THOSE    WHO    WERE  | 

DISCIPLES   OF   ZOROASTER   CERTAIN  j 
IDEAS  WHICH  THEIR  OWN  RELIGION 
DID  NOT  CONTAIN. 

JESUS  TAUGHT  THESE  IDEAS  AND  j 

THEREFORE   WAS   A   FOLLOWER    OF  j 
THE  PERSIAN  "SAVIOR." 


More  than  five  hundred  years  B.  C.  the  j 
Jews  were  captives  seventy  years,  and  during  j 
their  captivity  they  came  into  strong  contact  j 
with  the  Persian  religion.  From  it  (and  not  j 
from  revelation),  they  derived  the  ideas  of  j 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  which  afterwards  j 
tinctured  their  religious  teachings. 

THEY  ALSO  BORROWED  FROM  THE 
PERSIAN  RELIGION  THEIR  SUBSE- 
QUENT BELIEF  IN  A  MULTITUDE  OF 
ANGELS  AND  IN  SATAN  AS  THE  RULER 
OVER  EVIL  SPIRITS.  (Edward  Clodd.) 


JESUS  FOLLOWED  THE  PERSIAN 
RELIGIOUS  BELIEF  THAT  SATAN  AND 
HIS  DEMONS  COULD  POSSESS  THE 
BODIES  OF  MEN  AND  ANIMALS  AT 
PLEASURE. 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       315 


FROM  THIS  IGNORANCE  GREW  UP 
THE  FURTHER  BELIEF  IN  SORCERERS, 
WIZARDS  AND  WITCHES  UNDER 
WHICH  MILLIONS  OF  OUR  BROTHERS 
AND  SISTERS  OF  THE  RACE,  BOTH 
YOUNG  AND  OLD,  WERE  CRUELLY 
TORTURED  AND  PUT  TO  DEATH. 

*  *      * 

JESUS  AND  HIS  DISCIPLES  AND  ALL 
THE  JEWS  OF  HIS  DAY  WERE  SO 
GROSSLY  IGNORANT  OF  THE  REAL 
FACTS  RESPECTING  THE  HUMAN 
BODY  AND  OF  ITS  DISEASES,  INCLUD- 
ING MENTAL  DISTURBANCES,  THAT 
THEY  ASCRIBED  SOME  OF  THESE 
DISORDERS  TO  THE  POSSESSION  OF 
EVIL  SPIRITS— SATAN'S  DEMONS. 

*  *       * 

Biology  and  mental  science  have  "re- 
vealed" facts — truths — which  make  false 
and  preposterous  many  of  the  alleged  mir- 
acles performed  by  Jesus. 

It  is  ignorant  spiritual  slavery  to  believe 
these  tales  now  that  God's  truth  is  open  for 
the  education  of  everyone. 

*  *      * 

Let  us  examine  some  "gospel"  legends 
which  establish  the  assertion  that  Jesus  and 
others  of  his  day  believed  in  evil  spirits  and 
their  power  to  possess  human  beings: 


316  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 


"  *  *  There  met  him  two  possessed 
with  devils  *  *  And  there  was  a  good 
way  off  from  them  an  herd  of  many  swine 
feeding. 

"So  the  devils  besought  him,  saying,  If 
thou  cast  us  out  suffer  us  to  go  away  into  the 
herd  of  swine. 

"And  he  said  unto  them,  Go,  and  when 
they  were  come  out  they  went  into  the  herd 
of  swine,  and  behold  the  whole  herd  of  swine 
ran  violently  down  a  steep  place  into  the  sea 
and  perished  in  the  waters. 

"And  they  that  kept  them  fled  and  went 
their  ways  into  the  city  and  told  everything, 
and  what  was  befallen  to  the  possessed  of  the 
devils. ' '  (Matthew  8—28-33. ) 

A  quite  similar  tale  even  more  embellished 
in  that  the  evil  spirits  were  "Legion"  and 
the  swine  were  two  thousand  in  number,  is 
told  in  the  5th  chapter  of  Mark. 


If  Jesus  had  actually  performed  the  im- 
possible feat  in  this  Twentieth  Century  A.  D., 
he  would  have  become  legally  liable  to  the 
owners  of  the  swine  for  many  thousands  of 
dollars,  and  a  court  of  equity  probably  would 
have  put  him  under  bonds  not  to  exercise 
such  powers  against  the  property  of  innocent 
owners  of  swine.  Today  it  would  be  both 
morally  and  legally  wrong.  We  have  pro- 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       317 


gressed  some  since  the  days  of  fictitious 

miracles. 

*      *      * 

"Then  was  brought  unto  him  one  pos- 
sessed with  a  devil,  blind  and  dumb,  and  he 
healed  him,  insomuch  that  the  blind  and 
dumb  both  spake  and  saw"  *  *  * 

"But  when  the  Pharisees  heard  it,  they 
said,  This  fellow  doth  not  cast  out  devils,  but 
by  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils. 

"And  Jesus  knew  their  thoughts  and  said 
unto  them: 

"Every  kingdom  divided  against  itself  is 
brought  to  desolation,  and  every  city  or  house 
divided  against  itself  shall  not  stand; 

"And  if  Satan  cast  out  Satan,  he  is  di- 
vided against  himself;  how,  then,  shall  his 
kingdom  stand? 

"And  if  I  by  Beelzebub  cast  out  devils,  by 
whom  do  your  children  cast  them  out;  there- 
fore they  shall  be  your  judges. 

"But  if  I  cast  out  devils  by  the  spirit  of 
God,  then  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  unto 
you. ' '  (Matthew  12 ;  22-28. ) 


Alas,  Jesus  believed  that  those  who  were, 
by  physical  defects,  blind  and  dumb  were 
"possessed  of  devils." 

We  of  the  Twentieth  Century  know  that 
they  are  oftentimes  spiritually  beautiful,  and 


318  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


that  the  physical  defects  do  not  mean  that 
their  personalities  are  under  any  evil  power 
or  evil  possession. 

Only  ignorance  or  superstition  caused  the 
belief  of  Jesus  and  his  contemporaries. 

*      *      * 

Jesus  believed  that  one  who  had  the  "fall- 
ing sickness,"  the  dreaded  epilepsy,  an  ob- 
scure and  baffling  nervous  affection,  was  pos- 
sessed of  a  devil. 

"There  came  to  him  a  certain  man  kneel- 
ing down  and  saying: 

"Lord  have  mercy  on  my  son;  for  he  is 
lunatick  and  sore  vexed;  for  of  times  he  fall- 
eth  into  the  fire,  and  oft  into  the  water. 

"And  I  brought  him  to  thy  disciples  and 
they  could  not  cure  him. 

"Then  Jesus  answered  and  said,  *  *  * 
bring  him  hither  to  me. 

"And  Jesus  rebuked  the  devil,  and  he  de- 
parted out  of  him  and  the  child  was  cured 
from  that  very  hour."  (Matthew  17,  V.  14 
to  18.) 

•I*  ****** 

Lest  you  should  be  guilty  of  unconscious 
hypocrisy  in  saying  that  "disease"  was  thus 
personified  into  an  "evil  possession,"  merely 
as  a  "figure  of  speech,"  read  the  first  chapter 
of  Mark,  where  Jesus  again  is  reported  as 
addressing  an  "unclean  spirit,"  and  how  "at 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       319 


even  when  the  sun  did  set  they  brought  unto 
him  all  that  were  diseased  and  them  that  were 
possessed  with  devils. 

"And  he  healed  many  that  were  sick  of 
divers  diseases  and  cast  out  many  devils,  and 
suffered  not  the  devils  to  speak,  because  they 
knew  him. ' '  (Mark  1,  23-34. ) 

"And  he  preached  in  their  synagogues 
throughout  all  Galilee  and  cast  out  devils." 
(Mark  1,  39.) 

"And  unclean  spirits,  when  they  saw  him, 
fell  down  before  him  and  cried,  saying,  'Thou 
art  the  Son  of  God.' 

"And  he  straightly  charged  them  that 
they  should  not  make  him  known."  (Mark 
3,  11-12.) 

"And  he  ordained  twelve  that  they  should 
be  with  him  and  that  he  might  send  them 
forth  to  preach, 

"And  to  have  power  to  heal  sicknesses 
and  to  cast  out  devils."  (Mark  3,  14-15; 
Luke  6,  7-13.) 

Another  "casting  out  of  devil"  legend  is 
told  in  Mark,  chapter  7,  verses  25  to  30,  and 
still  another  of  an  epileptic  (probably  the 
same  legend  as  Matthew),  Mark,  chapter  9, 
verses  17  to  29;  Luke  9,  verses  38  to  42,  while 
out  of  Mary  Magdalene  "went  seven  devils." 
(Luke  8,  2.) 


320          THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

MANY  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS,  AS  j 
TOLD  IN  THE  GOSPELS,  DISCLOSE  HIS 
BELIEF  IN  SATAN  AND  ONE  OF  THE 
LEGENDS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT, 
COMPETING  WITH  THE  SIMILAR  LEG- 
END OF  BUDDHA,  ACTUALLY  REPRE- 
SENTS SATAN  AS  HAVING  EXERCISED 
THE  MIRACULOUS  POWER  OF  HAVING 
TRANSPORTED  JESUS  AT  WILL  UP  TO  j 
THE  PINNACLE  OF  THE  TEMPLE  AT  j 
JERUSALEM,  AND  AGAIN,  TO  THE  TOP  j 
OF  A  HIGH  MOUNTAIN.  AND  SATAN 
AND  JESUS  TALKED  TOGETHER,  AND 
THE  SUPREME  DEVIL  PERFORMED 
THE  MIRACLE  OF  SHOWING  JESUS 
"ALL  THE  KINGDOMS  OF  THE  WORLD 
AND  THE  GLORY  OF  THEM." 

AND  THE   DEVIL  IS  ALLEGED   TO 
HAVE  OFFERED  ALL  THESE  THINGS  j 
TO  JESUS  IF  HE  WOULD  FALL  DOWN 
AND  WORSHIP  HIM.    (Matthew  4,  v.  3-11.) 

3|C  SJC  *f* 

The  simple,  unscientific  minds  of  the  early 
Christian  days  accepted  such  tales  with  no 
questioning  and  as  a  proof  of  divinity,  but  we 
know  that  Rome  and  India  and  China  and 
numerous  other  nations  could  not  have  been 
seen  from  a  high  mountain  in  Palestine,  and 
they  would  then  scarcely  have  admitted  Sa- 
tan's title  to  ' 'all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world," 
even  though  figuratively  speaking  his  Satanic 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       321 


Majesty  often  displayed  his  cloven  hoof  in 
the  history  of  these  mighty  empires  as  well  as 
in  the  history  of  the  Jews. 

*  *      * 

SCIENCE  HAS  FOREVER  ABOLISHED 
SATAN  AND  DEVILS  AND  HELL  FROM 
THE  VERITIES  OF  EXISTENCE,  AND 
WITH  THEM  HAVE  GONE  THE  LEG- 
ENDS OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  AND 
OF  ZOROASTRIANISM  RESPECTING 
THE  EVIL  ONE  AND  HIS  DEMONS. 
PSYCHOLOGY  FINDS  IN  WILL  AND  DE- 
SIRE THE  AGENCIES  OF  EVIL  WHICH 
IGNORANCE  ASCRIBED  TO  SATAN  AND 

HIS  DEMONS. 

*  *      * 

DISORGANIZATIONS  OF  THE  PHYS- 
ICAL MACHINE  WHICH  PRODUCE 
BLINDNESS  OR  DUMBNESS  OR  EPILEP- 
SY OR  INSANITY,  DO  NOT  COME  FROM 
THE  POSSESSION  OF  DEVILS. 

THEY  ARE  INCIDENTAL  TO  CONDI- 
TIONS OF  LIFE  WHICH  SOMETIME 
WILL  BE  WELL  UNDERSTOOD  AND 
STRONGLY  GUARDED  AGAINST. 

EVIL  PASSIONS  ARE  NOT  DEVIL  IN- 
SPIRED, BUT  MAN  MADE  ENTIRELY. 


322  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


OF  COURSE,  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 
LEGENDS  ARE  NOT  TRUE,  AND  IN  ALL 
PROBABILITY  THE  MAN  JESUS  NEVER 
PRETENDED  TO  PERFORM  A  SINGLE 
MIRACLE. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FOUR  GOSPELS 
IS  SO  OBSCURE  AND  THEY  WERE 
WRITTEN  SO  MANY  YEARS  AFTER  THE 
MAN  JESUS  DIED  IN  AN  AGE  WHEN  IT 
WAS  NOT  KNOWN  THAT  GOD'S  LAWS 
PERMIT  OF  NO  MIRACLE,  AND  ALSO  IN 
AN  AGE  WHEN  THE  MIRACULOUS  WAS 
DEEMED  NECESSARY  TO  BOLSTER  UP 
RELIGION,  IT  IS  NOT  STRANGE  THAT 
CHRISTIANS  ASCRIBED  TO  JESUS  JUST 
AS  WONDERFUL  POWERS  AS  BUDDHA 
WAS  ENDOWED  WITH  BY  HIS  DEVO- 
TEES. 

LASTLY,  WE  ASSERT  THAT  BELIEF 
IN  SATAN  AND  EVIL  SPIRITS  DE- 
GRADES GOD  AND  IS  SOUL  SLAVERY. 
NO  OTHER  CONCLUSION  IS  POSSIBLE. 


SIXTH  DEGREE  CONTINUED       323 

Many  a  laugh  was  had  over  the  record  in  the 
Council  Chamber  of  what  Zora  Wells  said  after 
reading  the  Scroll  of  ''Demolition  of  the  Devil," 
as  the  instruction  was  dubbed  by  Mollie  Richards. 

"I  used  to  be  dreadfully  afraid  of  the  Devil. 
I  did  not  understand  that  he  was  a  creature  of 
imagination  only,  and  one  night  after  I  had  se- 
cretly confiscated  a  piece  of  pie  from  the  pantry 
and  returned  to  my  bedside,  I  dropped  the  pie  and 
the  lamp  and  fell  in  a  swoon  as  I  saw  Satan  himself 
with  huge  horns  and  glaring  eyes  looking  at  me 
through  my  window. 

"It  took  a  long  time  for  my  parents  to  din  into 
my  terror-stricken  brain  the  fact  that  it  was  stray- 
ing Blossom,  our  old  cow,  and  not  Beelzebub,  who 
looked  into  the  window." 

Darwin  Snowson,  after  his  laugh  ended,  said: 

"Zora,  the  Christian  Scientists  teach  their 
little  ones  to  cast  out  fear  from  their  personalities. 

*  *  We,  too,  will  always  teach  the  same  good  doc- 
trine, for  knowledge  banishes  fear  and  the  higher 
the  concept  of  God,  the  less  the  fear  of  anything 
now  or  hereafter,  and  we  teach  the  very  highest 
concepts  of  God." 

Mildred  Thatcher,  the  girl  philosopher,  also 
had  something  to  say  about  Satan. 

"There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  in 
Jesus'  time  the  Devil  was  regarded  amongst  the 
Jews  and  the  Persians  as  an  actual  supreme  im- 
personation of  evil,  and  as  having  an  objective 
existence  outside  of  man,  and  that  he  was  at  the 
head  of  a  host  of  evil  spirits  which  had  the  power 
to  possess  human  beings.  We  would  be  obliged  to 
disregard  too  many  New  Testament  legends  as 


324  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

well  as  much  contemporaneous  and  antecedent 
religious  history  to  reach  any  other  conclusion. 

4 'Christians  also  have  believed  in  the  grossest 
demonology,  and  for  many  centuries  the  Christian 
priesthood  originated  countless  legends  of  actual 
contests  between  individual  saints  and  devils  in 
one  or  other  of  a  thousand  forms. 

"It  was  not  knowledge  of  the  New  Testament, 
it  was  not  Christian  teachings  which  'abolished 
Satan  and  devils  and  hell  from  the  verities. ' 

"It  was  only  the  magnificent  accession  of  truth 
which  came  through  the  wonderful  scientific  dis- 
coveries of  the  last  three  centuries. ' ' 

And  the  Lesser  Master  replied: 

"Yes,  Mildred,  if  humanity  had  not  discovered 
great  truths  which  negatived  the  ideas  of  the  New 
Testament,  we  still  would  be  under  the  realm  of 
superstition  and  fear  which  for  1600  years  hin- 
dered the  grand  march  of  humanity  along  the 
Upward  Way. 

"If  humanity  had  to  rely  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment as  its  Truth,  then,  alas,  our  poor  souls  and 
bodies  would  be  bound  by  the  dark  chains  of  devil 
possession,  and  we  would  live  under  the  awful 
shadow  of  hell  and  eternal  punishment. 

"It  was  not  Christ,  nor  an  'inspired  scripture' 
which  elevated  the  souls  of  men  to  the  better 
knowledge  and  the  better  concept  of  God. 

"It  was  Truth,  revealed  in  God's  own  infalli- 
ble record,  in  his  Cosmic  Plan,  and  his  Cosmic 
Laws,  and  Science  became  the  messenger  of  the 
Infinite  One  to  bring  the  proofs." 


CHAPTEE  XXVIII. 

MORE  ABOUT  THE  UNTENABLE  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS. 

SCROLL  4. 

JESUS  WAS  A  JEW  AND  BELIEVED 
THE  JEWISH  "SCRIPTURES,"  OR  JEW- 
ISH BIBLE,  WHICH  WE  CALL  THE  OLD 
TESTAMENT,  TO  BE  INSPIRED  AND  TO 
CONTAIN  THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  (Mark 

7,  8  to  13.) 

*  *      * 

JESUS  BELIEVED  OLD  TESTAMENT 
LEGENDS  TO  BE  TRUE  WHICH  ARE  UN- 
TRUE  AND  WHICH  DISHONOR  GOD. 

*  *      * 

Jesus  believed  the  untrue  flood  story. 
(Luke  17,  v.  26-27.) 

And  the  absurd  tale  of  Lot's  wife.  (Luke 
17,  v.  28-32.) 

He  asserted  the  verity  of  the  fiction  about 
Jonah  and  the  great  fish.  (Matthew  12,  40.) 

He  believed  the  tales  of  the  Book  of  Exo- 
dus. (Mark  12,  26;  Luke  20,  37.) 

He  had  childlike  faith  in  the  fabulous  leg- 
end of  Cain  and  Abel.  (Matthew  23,  v.  35.) 

Again  and  again  and  again,  very  many 
times,  Jesus  in  his  teachings,  showed  that  he 


325 


326  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


regarded  the  "prophecies"  of  the  Jewish 
"prophets"  narrated  in  the  "Scriptures"  to 
be  true,  and  he  constantly  referred  to  the 
"Scriptures"  as  true. 

JESUS  DID  NOT  KNOW  THAT  THE 
OLD  TESTAMENT  BOOKS  DISHONORED 
GOD  AND  THEREFORE  COULD  NOT  BE   , 
THE  TRUTH. 

HE  HAD  NOT  EVOLVED  FAR  ' 
ENOUGH  ALONG  THE  UPWARD  SPIRIT- 
UAL WAY  THAT  MANKIND  IS  CLIMB- 
ING TO  PERCEIVE  THAT  THE  INFINITE 
ONE  COULD  NOT  BE  OF  SUCH  A  NA- 
TURE AS  THE  SCRIPTURES  AND  THE 
PROPHETS  AND  HE  AND  HIS  FELLOW 
JEWS  CONCEIVED  HIM. 


HERE  the  fourth  scroll  was  bisected  by  an 
unprinted  segment  of  the  deep  red  which 
constituted  its  body  color  and  a  pause  was 
made  in  the  uprolling  of  the  scroll. 

It  was  recorded  that  Marie  Templeton  had  said 
after  reading  the  first  segment: 

"How  simple  become  the  theological  dogmas 
over  which  Christians  have  disputed  and  fought 
when  we  understand  that  Jesus  was  merely  a  man 
without  any  more  knowledge  than  others  of  his 
day,  and  that  everything  he  said  and  taught  must 
be  examined  into  and  accepted  or  rejected,  just  as 
we  accept  or  reject  the  teachings  of  Aristotle  or 
Buddha  or  Thomas  Paine,  or  Confucius  or  Her- 
bert Spencer  or  Mary  Baker  Eddy." 


MORE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    327 

And  Robert  Young  had  answered  her: 

' '  Yes,  Jesus  was  very  human,  as  you  will  learn 
a  little  later,  and  before  many  decades  have 
passed  the  spiritually  advanced  of  earth  will 
wonder  that  Christianity  could  have  produced  the 
myriad  of  sects  it  has." 

But  Darwin  Snowson  added: 

''Do  not  be  too  sure,  Robert,  but  that  the  bit- 
ter contentions  of  rival  Christian  sects  have  had 
evolutional  value  in  educating  many  to  reject 
Christianity  itself. 

"Human  rationality  can  be  goaded  to  action 
as  well  as  persuaded." 

Zora  Wells  said  of  the  subject: 

"I  used  to  think  that  a  lot  of  the  sayings  of 
Jesus  in  the  Gospels  were  original  with  him  until 
once  I  got  busy  tracing  out  the  references  to  the 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  I  found  that 
great  lots  of  things  he  said  were  taken  from  the 
Jewish  Scriptures,  and  it  really  seemed  as  if  he 
thought  he  had  to  fulfill  what  was  said  by  those 
queer  old  prophets  who  were  always  grinding  out 
the  'Anger  and  vengeance  of  God'  on  everyone 
who  wasn  't  a  Jew,  and  oftentimes  on  other  Jewish 
tribes  and  even  their  own  people." 

And  to  this  the  Lesser  Master  replied: 

"Very  much  that  Jesus  taught  was  not  orig- 
inal with  him.  Even  the  Golden  Rule  had  been 
taught  by  Hillel,  a  Jewish  rabbi  of  splendid  per- 
sonal character,  nearly  a  hundred  years  before 
Jesus  was  born,  and  it  is  said  that  during  at  least 
two  hundred  years  before  Jesus  expounded  the 
Jewish  scriptures,  many  of  the  ethical  precepts 
that  Jesus  taught  were  current  instruction 


328  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

amongst  the  religious  philosophers  of  the  He- 
brews and  followers  of  other  religions  with  whom 
they  came  in  contact  from  Egypt  to  Greece,  and 
from  India  and  Persia  to  Tyre  and  Sidon." 

The  Beloved  Philosopher  had  embodied  in  the 
next  segment  a  singular  suggestion  which  must 
have  arisen  from  a  study  of  the  gospels  from  a 
modern  outlook. 


TAKING  THE  FIRST  THREE  GOS- 
PELS AT  THEIR  FACE  VALUE,  MUST 
WE  NOT  CONCLUDE  THAT  JESUS  WAS 
POSSESSED  OF  WHAT  PSYCHOLOGISTS 
TERM  ''A  DUAL  PERSONALITY?" 

CERTAINLY  HE  WAS  MOST  HUMAN 
IN  MANY  OF  HIS  TRAITS. 

Jesus  varied  so  radically  in  his  teachings 
at  different  times  and  occasions  he  seems  to 
contradict  his  own  doctrines. 

Here  speaks  the  Jew  in  instructions  to  the 
twelve  Apostles: 

"Go  not  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans  enter  ye  not; 

"But  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the 
children  of  Israel; 

"And  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  'The 
kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand.  (Matthew  10,  v. 
5-7.  Also  see  verse  18.) 

Again  Jesus  the  Jew  regarded  Gentiles  as 
"dogs." 


MORE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    329 


"And  behold  a  woman  of  Canaan  came 
out  of  the  same  coasts  and  cried  unto  him 
saying,  'Have  mercy  on  me,  0,  Lord,  thou 
Son  of  David,  my  daughter  is  grievously 
vexed  with  a  devil.'  " 

"But  he  answered  her  not  a  word.  And 
his  disciples  came  and  besought  him,  saying, 
send  her  away  for  she  crieth  after  us." 

"But  he  answered  and  said,  'I  am  not  sent 
but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  children  of 
Israel.'  " 

"Then  came  she  and  worshipped  him, 
saying,  Lord  help  me." 

But  he  answered  and  said:  It  is  not  meet 
to  take  the  children's  bread  and  to  cast  it  to 
dogs."  (Matthew  15,  v.  22-26.) 

And  the  humble  Gentile  woman,  a  "dog" 
to  the  exclusive  Jew,  subtly  answered: 

"And  she  said,  Truth,  Lord;  yet  the  dogs 
eat  of  the  crumbs  which  fall  from  their 
Master's  table."  (Matthew  15-27.) 

Then,  as  the  tale  goes,  Jesus  condescended 
to  "make  whole"  the  daughter  who  was 
"vexed  with  a  devil." 


But  when  Jesus  was  angry  with  the  Chief 
priests  and  elders,  he  changed  his  mind  re- 
garding the  Kingdom  of  God  being  for  the 
"lost  sheep  of  the  Children  of  Israel." 


330  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


"Therefore  say  I  unto  you,  the  Kingdom 
of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you  and  given  to 
a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof." 
(Matthew  21-44.) 

And  again  when  he  is  alleged  to  have 
healed  the  servant  of  a  Gentile  centurion  at 
whose  faith  he  marvelled  he  apparently  felt 
more  kindly  to  the  Gentiles. 

"Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found 
so  great  faith;  no,  not  in  Israel. 

"And  I  say  unto  you,  that  many  shall 
come  from  the  east  and  west  and  shall  sit 
down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob,  in 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven." 

"But  the  children  of  the  Kingdom  shall 
be  cast  into  outer  darknes;  there  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  (Matthew 

8,  10-12.) 

*      *      * 

Perhaps  it  may  not  be  strictly  fair  to 
quote  from  the  last  chapter  of  Mark,  for  emi- 
nent critics  assert  that  all  of  it  is  "spurious" 
after  the  eighth  verse,  even  as  an  original  tra- 
dition, but  it  is  accepted  by  the  translators 
of  the  English  "Revised  Version"  in  this 
doubtful  way: 

"The  two  oldest  Greek  manuscripts  and 
some  other  authorities  omit  from  verse  9  to 
the  end. 

"Some  authorities  have  a  different  end- 
ing to  the  gospel." 


MORE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    331 


It  is  in  verse  15  that  Jesus  entirely  re- 
verses his  instructions  to  the  Apostles  con- 
tained in  Matthew: 

"Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature." 

But  the  book  named  Matthew  also  asserts 
the  same  reversal: 

"Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations." 

(Matthew  28, 19.) 

*      *      * 

JESUS  HAS  BEEN  CALLED  "THE 
PRINCE  OF  PEACE."  LET  US  SEE 
WHAT  HE  SAID  ABOUT  PEACE. 

"Whosoever  therefore  shall  confess  me 
before  men,  him  will  also  confess  before  my 
Father  which  is  in  Heaven." 

"But  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before 
men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father 
which  is  in  Heaven." 

"THINK  NOT  I  AM  COME  TO  SEND 
PEACE  ON  EARTH;  I  CAME  NOT  TO 
SEND  PEACE,  BUT  A  SWORD."  (Matthew 
10,  32-34.) 

"Suppose  ye  that  I  am  come  to  give  peace 
on  earth?  I  will  tell  you,  nay;  but  rather  di- 
vision." 

And  to  the  contrary  Jesus  is  alleged  to 
have  said: 

"Blessed  are  the  peacemakers,  for  they 
shall  be  called  the  children  of  God."  (Mat- 
thew 5-9.) 


332  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


JESUS  DID  NOT  KNOW  THAT  GOD  IS 
INFINITELY  IMPARTIAL  AND  INFI- 
NITELY ABOVE  ANGER  AND  VENG- 
EANCE. 

Jesus  believed,  in  common  with  those  of 
the  Jews  who  studied  the  book  of  Isaiah,  that  j 
God  would  pick  out  a  few  amongst  his  spirit 
ual  children  and  these  "elect"  would  be  the 
special  objects  of  his  care.  All  Jews,  includ- 
ing Jesus,  believed  that  the  Children  of 
Israel  had  been  the  favored  race  of  all  man- 
kind, God's  "chosen  people." 

Let  us  look  into  some  of  Jesus'  beliefs. 

"And  shall  not  God  avenge  his  own  elect 
which  cry  night  and  day  unto  him  though  he 
bear  long  with  them. 

"I  tell  you  that  he  will  avenge  them 
speedily.  -Howbeit  when  the  Son  of  Man 
cometh  shall  He  find  faith  on  the  earth?" 
(Luke  18,  7-8.) 

In  a  terrible  prophecy  which  dishonors 
the  Infinite  One,  Jesus  followed  the  false 
prophet  Daniel  and  predicted  most  horrible 
fate  to  all  save  the  "elect,"  the  chosen  few. 

This  prophecy  begins  with  the  14th  verse 
of  the  13th  Chapter  of  Mark,  and  continues 
through  the  chapter. 


MORE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    333 


Some  portions  we  quote: 

"For  in  those  days  shall  be  affliction  such 
as  was  not  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation 
which  God  created  unto  this  time,  neither 
shall  be." 

"And  except  that  the  Lord  had  shortened 
those  days,  no  flesh  should  be  saved;  but  for 
the  elect's  sake  whom  he  hath  chosen,  he 
hath  shortened  the  days."  *  *  *  * 

"For  false  Christs  and  false  prophets 
shall  rise  and  shall  show  signs  and  wonders, 
to  seduce,  if  it  were  possible,  even  the  elect." 

*  *      * 

"And  then  shall  they  see  the  Son  of  Man 
coming  in  the  clouds  with  great  power  and 
glory," 

"And  then  shall  he  send  his  angels  and 
shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four 
winds,  from  the  uttermost  part  of  earth  to  the 
uttermost  part  of  Heaven."  (Mark  13,  v.  19, 
20,  22,  26  and  27.) 

See  also  Matthew  24,  v.  15  to  34. 

Incidentally,  Jesus  prophecied,  "Verily  I 
say  unto  you  that  this  generation  shall  not 
pass  till  all  these  things  be  done."  He  ex- 
pressed the  same  thought  often.  (Mark  13,  v. 
30;  Matthew  24,  v.  34.) 

Of  course  they  did  not  come  to  pass  dur- 
ing that  "generation"  and  they  never  will 

come  to  pass. 

*  *      * 


334  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


Jesus  believed  that  only  a  few  of  his 
brothers  and  sisters  of  the  human  race  would 
be  "chosen"  by  God  to  go  to  the  Heaven  he 
imagined. 

"For  many  are  called  but  few  are 
chosen,"  (Matthew  22,  v.  14;  Matthew  20,  v. 
16.) 

Many  others  of  his  teachings  clearly  es- 
tablish that  he  deemed  that  of  all  the  myriads 
of  human  beings  living  and  dying  over  the 
whole  world,  only  those  who  followed  his 
teachings  would  be  "saved. ' '  The  rest  would 
go  into  a  state  of  eternal  punishment. 

AND  THERE  ARE  MANY  MILLIONS 
NOW  LIVING  WHO  ARE  SO  BOUND  BY 
THE  CHAINS  OF  SPIRITUAL  SLAVERY 
THAT  THEY  BELIEVE  THAT  BY  BE- 
LONGING TO  SOME  PARTICULAR 
CHRISTIAN  SECT  THEY  ARE  TO  BE 
FAVORED  BY  GOD,  AND  AFTER  THIS 
LIFE  WILL  GO  TO  THE  HEAVEN  JESUS 
DEPICTED. 

THEY  THINK  THEY  ARE  "THE 
ELECT"  AND  THAT  THEY  ARE  AMONG 
THE  "FEW"  WHO  "ARE  CHOSEN." 

***  sjc  -,. 

WHAT  SUPREME  SPIRITUAL  EGO- 
TISM—WHAT PROFOUND  SPIRITUAL 
BLINDNESS ! !  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD  MUST 
NOT  THUS  BE  LIMITED  AND  DE- 
GRADED. 


MORE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    335 

This  segment  of  the  scroll  met  with  criticism 
from  one  who  came  through  Congregationalism 
into  the  Society. 

"Does  not  the  Society  ignore  certain  great 
features  of  Jesus'  teachings,  and  bear  unduly  on 
others?  Where  are  the  comments  on  the  King- 
dom of  God,  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the 
Brotherhood  of  Man  which  of  late  have  become 
the  bases  of  liberal  Christianity?" 

To  him  Darwin  Snowson  replied: 

"Think  a  moment.  Have  not  your  liberal 
Christian  sects  ignored  and  hidden  by  strained 
interpretations  many  recorded  teachings  of 
Jesus,  and  transformed  and  then  magnified  to  pro- 
portions Jesus  never  dreamed  of,  some  others  of 
the  ideas  he  taught? 

'  *  The  Society  has  not  ignored  the  matters  you 
mention.  They  are  merely  deferred  to  a  cumu- 
lative conclusion. 

"Our  teachings  are  to  establish  not  only  that 
Jesus  was  not  divine,  but  also  that  he  was  not  in- 
spired by  God,  and  that  the  New  Testament  is  to 
be  regarded  the  same  as  the  Zoroastrian  and  the 
Buddhistic  Bibles  or  the  Book  of  Mormon  and 
the  Mormon  Doctrines  and  Covenants." 

The  next  segment  of  the  scroll  dwelt  upon  an- 
other of  the  strange  contradictions  in  the  char- 
acter of  Jesus. 


336  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


Amongst  the  recorded  early  teachings  of 
Jesus,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  esteemed 
greatly  by  Christians,  although  it  is  now  well 
known  that  much  that  was  taught  in  that 
sermon  was  then  the  current  instruction  of 
the  Synagogues. 

Did  he  forget  these  doctrines  in  his  later 
days? 

He  extolled  meekness  and  gave  a  remark- 
able ethical  instruction  when  he  said — "Love 
your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  j 
good  to  them  that  hate  you  and  pray  for  them  j 
which  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  j 
you."  (Matthew  5,  44.) 

Yet  it  is  recorded  that  in  apparent  anger  j 
because  he  found  no  fruit  upon  a  fig  tree  he  j 
cursed  the  tree  and  because  of  his  "curse"  j 
the  tree  forthwith  "withered  away."  (Mark  j 
11,  v.  12-14;  20-21.) 

This  act  becomes  irrational  anger,  if  we 
take  Mark's  narrative  as  true,  for  he  says 

"For  the  time  of  figs  was  not  yet!" 

*      *      * 

But  Jesus  became  angry  many  times  and 
was  ready  to  deal  out  vengeance  in  a  way 
which  not  only  is  very  like  other  Jewish 
prophets,  but  is  also  essentially  not  divine. 

"Then  began  he  to  upbraid  the  cities  ! 
wherein  most  of  his  mighty  works  were  done  i 
because  they  repented  not.    'Woe  unto  thee 
Chorazin;  woe  unto  thee  Bethsaida,  for  if 


MORE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    337 


the  mighty  works  which  were  done  in  you 
had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  they  would 
have  repented  long  ago  in  sack-cloth  and 
ashes.'  " 

"But  I  say  unto  you  'It  shall  be  more 
tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  at  the  day  of 
judgment,  than  for  you.'  " 

"And  thou  Capernaum  which  art  exalted 
unto  heaven  shalt  be  brought  down  to  hell; 
for  if  the  mighty  works  which  have  been 
done  in  thee  had  been  done  in  Sodom  it  would 
have  remained  until  this  day."  (Matthew  11, 
20-24.) 

See,  also: 

Mark  6, 11;  Mark  3,  5;  Matthew  23,  29-33; 
j   Matthew  12,  38-42;  Luke  11,  50-51. 


Zora  Wells  remarked  respecting  the  segment 
of  the  Scroll  just  copied: 

*  *  Well,  Jesus  certainly  was  very  human.  When 
opposed  or  controverted  he  seems  to  have  become 
angry  occasionally,  just  as  I  do.  But  I  am  trying 
hard  to  overcome  the  tendency,  for  I  know  that 
anger  leads  to  all  sorts  of  evils." 

The  Lesser  Master  in  answer  said: 

"Zora,  anger  and  vengefulness  are  foes  to  the 
spiritual  progress  of  individuals  and  communi- 
ties, and  are  essentially  animalistic. 


338  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"The  race  is  growing  slowly  away  from  their 
degenerating  power,  but  it  is  hard  to  conquer 
them  and  to  substitute  tolerance  and  serenity  and 
forgiveness  in  their  stead,  but  when  one  becomes 
commander  of  her  own  brain,  she  can  demand  of 
it  that  the  surge  of  anger  shall  stop  at  the  outset. 

"This  is  a  little  lesson  in  spiritual  progress." 


ONE  OF  THE  MOST  DEEPLY  ROOTED 
OPINIONS  HELD  BY  JESUS  WAS  THAT 
BY  "FAITH  AND  BY  PRAYER"  MAN 
HAS  POWER  OVER  NATURE. 


Jesus  was  ignorant  that  a  universe  vast 
beyond  all  human  grasp,  evidences  a  realm  of 
laws  which  are  absolutely  unchangeable  in 
their  operation;  laws  which  can  be  used  by 
man  in  wonderful  ways,  but  which  "faith  and 
prayer"  can  no  more  affect  than  can  the 
finite  comprehend  the  infinite. 


Only  the  most  ignorant  today  believe  the 
following  teachings  attributed  to  Jesus: 

"If  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed  ye  shall  say  unto  this  mountain,  remove 
hence  to  yonder  place;  and  it  shall  remove, 
and  nothing  shall  be  impossible  unto  you." 
(Matthew  17,  v.  20.) 


MORE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    339 


"And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto 
them,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  if  ye  have  faith 
and  doubt  not  ye  shall  not  only  do  this  which 
is  done  to  the  fig  tree,  but  also  if  ye  shall  say 
unto  this  mountain,  'Be  thou  removed  and  be 
thou  cast  into  the  sea';  it  shall  be  done. 

"And  all  things  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask 
in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive."  (Mat- 
thew 21,  21-22;  Mark  11,  23-24.) 

"And  the  Lord  said,  If  ye  had  faith  as  a 
grain  of  mustard  seed  ye  might  say  unto  this 
sycamine  tree,  be  thou  plucked  up  by  the  root 
and  be  thou  planted  in  the  sea,  and  it  should 
obey  you."  (Luke  17,  6.) 

#      *      * 

Elsewhere  in  our  instruction  we  deny  that 
prayer  to  the  Infinite  One  can  have  any  ob- 
jective answer  because  it  dishonors  God  to 
assert  it,  but  to  seriously  contend  that  the 
statements  of  Jesus  just  quoted  are  true  is 
such  blindness  to  the  truth,  we  shall  not  as- 
sume that  any  twentieth  century  personality 
which  has  at  all  considered  the  relative 
weight  of  a  mountain  and  a  prayer,  will  so 
confuse  the  material  universe  and  the  psychic 
universe. 


The  next  segment  of  the  Scroll  continued  in- 
struction in  the  same  field. 


340  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


"Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread; 
"Lead  us  not  into  temptation, 
"But  deliver  us  from  Evil." 


The  hundreds  of  millions  who  have  thus 
prayed  to  God  and  are  now  thus  praying 
daily,  have  no  idea  that  their  prayer  is  based 
on  untruth  and  dishonors  God. 

In  childish  ignorance  they  follow  a 
"Master"  who  was  as  ignorant  as  they  are 
of  God's  true  relationship  to  all  the  human 
children  of  His  great  Plan. 

Neither  they  nor  Jesus  comprehended 
that  in  praying  for  daily  bread  they  were  ac- 
cusing God  of  withholding  bread  from  the 
untold  millions  of  mothers  and  little  chil- 
dren (as  well  as  fathers  and  older  children) 
who  have  perished  from  starvation  during 

all  the  world's  history. 

*      *      * 

GOD  DOES  NOT  GIVE  OR  WITHHOLD 
DAILY  BREAD  FROM  ANY  HUMAN  BE- 
ING, EITHER  THE  GOOD  OR  THE  BAD, 
EITHER  BECAUSE  OF  PRAYER  OR 
OTHERWISE. 

MANKIND  ALWAYS  HAS  BEEN  AND 
ALWAYS  WILL  BE  REQUIRED  TO  DE- 
PEND UPON  ITS  OWN  EFFORTS  AND 
THE  CO-OPERATION  OF  ITS  OWN  MEM- 
BERS TO  ASSURE  ITSELF  OF  THE 
FOOD  NECESSARY  TO  PRESERVE  PHY- 
SICAL LIFE. 


MORE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    341 


Natural  and  economic  laws,  combined 
with  man's  efforts,  determine  the  abundance 
or  scarcity  of  crops  and  of  all  other  food. 

TO  BELIEVE  THAT  GOD  FAVORS 
THE  FAITH  OF  THOSE  WHO  PRAY  FOR 
FOOD,  DISHONORS  THE  INFINITE  ONE 
BY  ACCUSING  HIM  OF  PARTIALITY  TO 
THOSE  WHO  PRAY. 

So,  too,  it  dishonors  God  to  believe  that 
He  sends  or  withholds  sickness  or  death  or 
that  by  direct  act  He  decrees  that  anyone 
shall  be  saved  from  accident  or  cured  from 
disease. 

GOD  RULES  HUMAN  FATE  AND  DES- 
TINY SOLELY  THROUGH  HIS  LAWS. 
#      *      # 

Think  a  moment,  you  who  regard  the  so- 
called  "Lord's  Prayer"  as  divinely  in- 
spired!! 

Do  you  dare  to  accuse  God  of  leading  us 
into  temptation,  or  enmeshing  us  in  evil? 

Yet,  when  you  ask  the  Infinite  One  to 
"Lead  us  not  into  temptation  but  deliver  us 
from  evil,"  you  do  thus  dishonor  God  and 
you  are  enchained  in  Spiritual  Slavery. 

IF  GOD  DEALT  WITH  MANKIND  SO 
THAT  THE  INDIVIDUAL  PERSONALITY 
WOULD  BE  LED  INTO  TEMPTATION  OR 
ENTICED  INTO  EVIL  BY  GOD'S  WILL, 
AND  DELIVERED  FROM  TEMPTATION 


342  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

•••••^•MM 

OR  FROM  EVIL  BECAUSE  OF  REPE-  | 
TITION  OF  A  PRAYER,  THEN  MORAL 
FREEDOM  WOULD  NOT  EXIST,  AND 
MAN  WOULD  NOT  BE  RESPONSIBLE 
TO  FELLOW  MEN  OR  TO  GOD  FOR  HIS 

ACTS. 

*  *   * 

It  is  because  God  does  not  directly  inter- 
fere with  human  action  or  human  fate  that 
man  has  his  best  heritage.  THIS  HERIT- 
AGE IS  HIS  POWER  TO  CHOOSE  HIS 
OWN  ACTIONS  AND  TO  STRUGGLE  FOR 
HIS  OWN  TEMPORAL  EXISTENCE. 

Man  will  learn  to  make  the  struggle  for 
existence  easier  and  by  co-operation  will  in- 
sure peace  and  daily  bread  to  most  human 
beings,  but  God  will  not  interfere  in  the 

struggle. 

*  #   # 

YET,  YOU  MUST  REMEMBER  THAT 
GOD  IS  NOT  ALOOF  FROM  HUMAN 
DESTINY.  IN  THE  SPIRITUAL  REALM 
HIS  LOVE  DWELLS  IN  YOUR  SOUL  AND 
EVER  IMPELS  IT  TO  BETTER  AND 
HIGHER  SPIRITUALITY. 

YOU  CAN  SEND  OUT  TO  HIM  YOUR 
LOVE  AND  WORSHIP  EVEN  THOUGH 
YOU  HAVE  NEITHER  THE  RIGHT  NOR 
PRIVILEGE  OF  ASKING  HIM  TO  INTER- 
FERE  IN  YOUR  AFFAIRS  OR  ANY  AF- 
FAIRS OF  EARTH. 


MOKE  ABOUT  BELIEFS  OF  JESUS    343 

It  was  thus  that  the  Society  redeemed  its 
promise  to  show  that  the  "Lord's  Prayer"  dis- 
honored God. 

Marie  Templeton  read  the  segment  of  the 
scroll  and  had  this  to  say  about  it : 

"Plenty  of  Christians  have  starved  to  death 
when  their  daily  repetition  of  the  'Lord's 
Prayer'  would  have  brought  daily  bread  if  God 
answered  prayer. 

' '  Christians  do  not  act  in  their  daily  lives  upon 
the  faith  of  the  prayer.  They  know  they  must 
plan  and  labor  and  struggle  for  their  daily 
bread. 

"Hundreds  of  thousands  of  Christians  have 
accepted  their  daily  bread  from  the  State  in  alms- 
houses,  and  it  can  scarcely  be  said  this  sustenance 
is  in  answer  to  prayer." 

Zora  Wells,  too,  said  something: 

"I  observe  that  Christians  have  to  hustle  for  a 
living  just  like  non-Christians,  so  they  prove  that 
their  belief  is  ill  founded;  but  I  find  that  lots  of 
them  do  not  believe  that  God  ordinarily  furnishes 
food  and  raiment  in  answer  to  prayer.  They  have 
a  hazy  idea  that  God  would  direct  some  one  to 
help  them  if  they  were  starving  or  freezing,  but 
I  notice  they  try  hard  to  get  the  money  to  buy 
flour  and  overcoats. 

"Yet  those  who  fail  in  the  struggle  suffer  the 
same  fate  as  the  non-Christians  who  do  likewise. ' ' 

Darwin  Snowson  replied: 

"God's  plan  requires  that  all  of  us  shall  pro- 
vide or  have  provided  for  us  the  necessities  of 
physical  existence. 


344  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

*  *  The  rule  is  no  different  for  Christians  or  sav- 
ages. They  are  equals  in  God's  great  Process. 

"No  human  being  can  truthfully  arrogate  to 
himself  special  favor  of  the  Almighty  through 
faith  and  prayer.  The  Divine  Plan  knows  no 
such  favor." 

Here  the  instruction  for  the  day  ended. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

VITAL  NEW   TESTAMENT   DOCTRINES   DISHONOR  GOD. 

IN  spite  of  all  previous  instruction  many  a  dis- 
ciple of  the  Society  of  Progress  found  it 
necessary  to  study  carefully  the  printed 
copies  of  the  Scrolls  of  the  "Room  of  Opened 
Eyes,"  which  were  furnished  at  the  end  of  the 
day's  instruction,  in  order  to  overcome  the  ideas 
which  they  had  long  held,  that  all  that  Jesus  is 
reported  to  have  said  must  be  truth. 

An  inherited  religion  is  hard  to  uproot,  and 
yet  the  Society  of  Progress  relied  upon  the  pledge 
of  the  disciples  to  seek  truth  regardless  of  its  re- 
sults, and  not  one  of  the  thousands  who  took  the 
degrees  ever  regretted  that  he  had  entered  the 
door  of  the  Chamber  of  Truth. 

Darwin  Snowson  once  commented  on  this  fact. 

"//  you  can  arouse  the  brains  of  those  who 
are  asleep  in  the  old  faiths  and  create  in  them  a 
real  desire  to  know  the  truth  and  an  honest  de- 
termination to  weigh  the  claims  of  these  old  faiths, 
there  can  be  one  end  only  to  their  investigation — 
they  must  condemn  the  old  beliefs. 

' '  Of  course  fanatics  and  the  wilfully  blind  will 
remain  in  the  slavery  of  the  soul  which  is  dead  to 
all  vision  of  the  true  Divine  Plan. 

The  second  day  in  the  "Room  of  Opened 
Eyes"  began  with  a  Scroll  which  commented 
upon  the  most  prominent  of  all  the  teachings  of 
Jesus: 

345 


346  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

SCROLL  V. 

THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN. 

As  Renan  correctly  says,  "The  ground 
idea  of  Jesus  from  the  first  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Kingdom  of  God." 

"But  this  Kingdom,  *  *  *  appears  to 
have  been  understood  by  him  in  very  differ- 
ent senses." 

#      *      * 

Both  John  and  Jesus  in  preaching  the 
"Kingdom  of  Heaven"  or  the  "Kingdom  of 
God"  were  following  current  religious 
thought  amongst  the  Jews,  who  had  for  a 
long  time  dreamed  of  a  Kingdom  of  Jehovah 
on  earth  which  would  destroy  all  their 
enemies  and  glorify  "His  peculiar  people" 
by  making  them  the  rulers  of  all  the  earth. 

The  Book  of  Daniel,  which  greatly  dis- 
honors God  in  many  ways,  but  perhaps  most 
by  asserting  that  Kings  Rule  by  Divine  Ap- 
pointment (Daniel  Ch.  2,  21;  Ch.  2,  37,  and 
Ch.  4,  25),  is  probably  the  source  from  which 
sprang  the  idea  of  a  Kingdom  of  God. 

"And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the 
Lord  God  of  Heaven  set  up  a  kingdom, 
which  shall  never  be  destroyed,  and  the  king- 
dom shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but  it 
shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these 
kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  forever." 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  347 


See  Daniel  2,  44;  Daniel  7,  13,  14  and  18. 

"And  the  kingdom  and  dominion  and 
the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the 
whole  Heaven  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of 
the  Saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom 
is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominions 
shall  serve  and  obey  him."  (Daniel  7,  27.) 

*  *      * 

Now  the  Book  of  Daniel  is  a  book  of  fic- 
tion. 

It  discloses  within  itself  that  it  was  writ- 
ten about  168  years  B.C.,  while  it  purports  to 
give  long  verbal  conversations  and  minute 
accounts  of  dreams  and  visions  and  interpre- 
tations of  dreams  which  are  reputed  to  have 
occurred  more  than  400  years  before  the  book 
was  written.  Of  course  this  is  an  impossi- 
bility. 

Some  of  its  history  is  false,  and  as  it  also 
dishonors  God  repeatedly  and  grossly,  it 
must  be  mere  uninspired  fiction. 

BUT  ALAS,  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST  AND 
JESUS  BOTH  FOLLOWED  THIS  BOOK 
OF  FICTION  IN  THEIR  TEACHINGS. 
(Matthew  24, 15;  Mark  13, 14.) 

*  *      * 

LET  US  SEE  HOW  JESUS  SPOKE  OF 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN. 


348  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


First:  He  believed  that  the  "prophecy" 
contained  in  the  Book  of  Daniel  was  about  to 
be  fulfilled. 

"Repent  ye,  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
is  at  hand. ' '  (Matthew  3,  2.) 

John  the  Baptist  taught  thus  and  Jesus 
followed  his  teaching  in  identical  words. 
(Matthew  4,  17.) 

To  preach  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  was 
his  mission,  as  defined  by  himself. 

IT  OUGHT  NOT  TO  BE  QUESTIONED 
THAT  JESUS  THOUGHT  AND  PROPHE- 
SIED THAT  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD  OR  ! 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN  WAS  ! 
ABOUT  TO  COME  UPON  EARTH. 

One  must  doubt  the  plainest  of  language  i 
if  he  attempts  to  question  this. 

It  is  narrated  that  Jesus  said  to  the  twelve  j 
when  first  sending  them  forth  to  preach  "to  j 
the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel": 

"And  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven  is  at  hand."  (Matthew  10,  7.) 

And  again  Jesus  said: 

"Verily  I  say  unto  you  'This  generation 
shall  not  pass  till  all  these  things  be  ful- 
filled.' " 

See,  also:  Matthew  24,  34;  Mark  13,  4-30; 
Luke  21,  30-31;  Luke  18,  7-8;  Mark  1,  14-15. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  349 


'Tor  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the 
glory  of  his  Father,  with  his  angels,  and  then 
he  shall  reward  every  man  according  to  his 
works." 

"Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  there  be  some 
standing  here  which  shall  not  taste  of  death 
till  they  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  his 
kingdom."  (Matthew  16,  27-28.) 

THAT  THE  EXISTING  GENERATION 
PASSED  AWAY  AND  TASTED  DEATH 
WITHOUT  THE  DREADFUL  PROPHECY 
OF  JESUS  BEING  FULFILLED  IS  NOW 
THE  HISTORY  OF  FIFTY  SUBSEQUENT 
GENERATIONS.  (Matthew  24,  3  to  34.) 


AND  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN 
THAT  JESUS  DREAMED  OF  DISHONORS 
GOD. 

First:  As  we  have  shown,  it  was  to  be 
the  kingdom  of  the  "elect,"  the  few  and  not 
the  many. 

Jesus  had  no  conception  of  the  spiritual 
brotherhood  of  all  men,  which  must  neces- 
sarily include  not  only  the  Jew  but  the  Gen- 
tile, not  only  the  believer  in  the  Jewish  God 
but  the  most  ignorant  idol  or  fetich  wor- 
shipper, not  only  the  "righteous"  but  the 
"wicked."  Divine  love  cannot  be  limited  in 
the  way  Jesus  taught. 


350  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


Second:  He  seems  to  have  been  so  en- 
grossed in  ideas  absorbed  from  Daniel  that 
he  believed  that  natural  laws  (God's  laws) 
would  forget  their  eternal  functions  in  order 
to  fulfill  what  the  Book  of  Daniel  foretold  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

Jesus  thought  that  the  clouds  were  in 
Heaven  and  that  the  "four  winds"  (that  is, 
the  North,  South,  East  and  West  winds) 
were  winds  from  Heaven. 

He  had  no  idea  of  the  true  cosmos. 

In  adopting  the  name  "Son  of  Man," 
Jesus  was  following  the  Book  of  Ezekiel, 
which  uses  it  perhaps  one  hundred  times  as 
a  name  given  by  angels  to  the  prophet,  and 
it  also  appears  in  Daniel. 

See  Matthew  24;  29,  30  and  31,  also  verse 
15;  Daniel  7,  13. 

Third:  In  the  "Kingdom  of  Heaven" 
God  was  to  honor  Jesus  by  placing  him  in  the 
judgment  seat  as  a  king  and  let  him  send  the 
wicked  (all  human  beings  but  the  few  who 
are  God's  "elect")  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment, where  their  resurrected  bodies  would 
be  tortured  forever.  (Matthew  25,  v.  31,  41, 
46;  Luke  14,  v.  37  to  43  and  v.  45  to  50.) 

ALAS  FOR  THE  SPIRITUAL  BLIND- 
NESS WHICH  BELIEVES  THAT  SUCH  IS 
THE  DIVINE  PLAN  FOR  HUMANITY. 


Many  of  the  disciples,  having  in  remembrance 
other  teachings  of  Jesus,  when  they  had  com- 
pleted the  seven  readings  of  the  segment  of  the 
scroll,  wondered  whether  the  Society  would  ig- 
nore some  of  these  sayings  which  seemed  to  show 
that  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  was  not  entirely  re- 
pulsive. 

When  Mollie  Richards  first  had  read  the  mes- 
sage she  remarked: 

"I  understand  that  our  Society  must  of  neces- 
sity strongly  attack  such  teachings  of  Jesus  as 
dishonor  God  or  are  not  in  accord  with  the  Di- 
vine Plan,  but  I  expect  that  many  orthodox 
Christians  will  object  most  vehemently  to  the 
methods  employed. 

"I  also  expect  that  before  we  are  through  with 
our  instruction  we  will  learn  more  about  other 
things  in  the  New  Testament  that  dishonor  God, 
as  I  have  in  remembrance  quite  a  few  myself,  but 
I  also  would  wish  that  something  shall  be  said  of 
the  idealization  of  some  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
which  has  made  morally  beautiful  the  lives  of 
millions  who  have  followed  the  Christian  faith." 

And  Robert  Young,  whom  she  addressed,  re- 
plied: 

"Mollie,  when  many  orthodox  and  *semi'- 
orthodox  Christians  are  asked  to  re-weigh  their 
beliefs,  they  will  be  afraid  to  do  so,  frightened  at 
the  name  'infidel,'  and  many  will  deem  it  blas- 
phemy to  question  a  thing  that  Jesus  taught,  and 
many  will  jump  to  wrong  conclusions  of  the 
teachings  of  our  Society,  and  many  will  make 
'interpretations'  which  will  themselves  disclose 
that  the  Bible  cannot  be  the  'Word  of  God.' 


352  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

1  'But  we  must  patiently  ask  each  of  them  who 
will  listen  to  us,  to  read  again  the  things  we  have 
quoted  and  value  them  just  as  they  appear,  and 
then  say  whether  their  God  is  of  the  nature  con- 
ceived in  these  teachings 

"As  to  your  last  suggestion,  Mollie,  we  have 
all  felt  just  as  you  do,  and  you  can  rest  assured 
that  the  subject  receives  full  attention,  and  of 
such  a  nature  that  I  think  you  will  be  pleased. ' ' 

The  next  segment  of  the  Scroll  boldly  attacked 
the  chief  doctrine  of  all  Christian  orthodoxy, 
''The  Blood  Atonement  for  the  Sins  of  the 
World." 


THE  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

"For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  (John  3,  v.  16.) 

"He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall 
be  saved,  but  be  that  believeth  not  shall  be 
damned."  (Mark  16,  v.  16.) 

"Even  as  the  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister  and  to  give 
his  life  a  ransom  for  many."  (Matthew  20, 
v.  28;  Mark  10,  v.  45.) 

"And  he  said  unto  them,  This  is  my  blood 
of  the  New  Testament  which  is  shed  for 
many."  (Mark  14,  v.  24.) 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONOKS  GOD  353 


'Tor  this  is  my  blood  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins."  (Matthew  26,  v.  28.) 

"For  the  life  of  the  flesh  is  in  the  blood; 
and  I  have  given  it  to  you  upon  the  altar  to 
make  an  atonement  for  your  souls;  for  it  is 
the  blood  that  maketh  an  atonement  for  the 
soul."  (Leviticus  17,  v.  11.) 

'Tor  when  we  were  yet  without  strength 
in  due  time  Christ  died  for  the  ungodly." 

"But  God  commendeth  his  love  towards 
us  in  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners  Christ 
died  for  us. 

"Much  more  then,  being  now  justified  by 
his  blood  we  shall  be  saved  from  the  wrath 
through  him. 

"For  if  when  we  were  enemies  we  were 
reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son, 
much  more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be 
saved  by  his  life. 

"And  not  only  so  but  we  also  joy  in  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we 
have  now  received  atonement. 

"Wherefore  as  by  one  man  (Adam)  sin 
entered  into  the  world  and  death  by  sin,  and 
so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all 
have  sinned,"  *  *  *  "Nevertheless, 
death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even 
over  them  that  had  not  sinned  after  the  simil- 
itude of  Adam's  transgression,  who  is  the 


354  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


figure  of  him  that  was  to  come."    (Romans 
5,  v.  6  to  14.) 

"For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive."  (1  Corinthians  15, 
v.  22.) 

"And  Aaron  shall  make  an  atonement 
upon  the  horns  of  it  once  in  a  year  with  the 
blood  of  the  sin  offering  of  atonements. ' ' 

"And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  saying, 
'When  thou  takest  the  sum  of  the  children 
of  Israel  after  their  number,  then  shall  they 
give,  every  man,  a  ransom  for  his  soul  unto 
the  Lord.'  "  *  *  * 

"And  the  rich  shall  not  give  more,  and 
the  poor  shall  not  give  less,  than  half  a 
shekel  when  they  give  an  offering  unto  the 
Lord  to  make  an  atonement  for  your  souls. ' ' 

See,  also:  Exodus  30,  v.  10  to  15;  Exodus 
29,  v.  36;  Leviticus  Chap.  4  (several  atone- 
ments by  sacrifice  and  blood.)  Also  many 
passages  in  the  Epistles. 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  ORTHODOX 
CHRISTIANITY  IS  THAT  MAN  SINNED 
IN  ADAM  AND  THAT  ONLY  A  HUMAN 
SACRIFICE,  ONLY  THE  BLOOD  OF  THE 
SON  OF  GOD  (WHO  BECAME  FLESH 
FOR  THAT  PURPOSE)  COULD  ATONE 

TO  GOD  FOR  THE  SINS  OF  MANKIND. 

*      *      * 

SUCH  A  BELIEF  IS  BASED  UPON  UN- 
TRUTH AND  DISHONORS  GOD. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONOKS  GOD  355 


The  story  of  the  fall  of  man  through 
Adam  and  Eve  is  false.  The  true  history  of 
mankind  is  entirely  different. 

MANKIND  HAS  BEEN  SLOWLY  RIS- 
ING IN  THE  SPIRITUAL  SCALE  UNDER 
THE  IMPULSE  OF  DIVINE  LOVE,  IN- 
STEAD OF  FALLING  FROM  A  HIGHER 
ESTATE. 

The  idea  that  God  is,  or  at  any  time  was, 
angry  with  mankind  is  degrading.  It  is 
ascribing  a  base  human  passion  to  the  Infinite 
One. 

Sacrifices  of  beasts  or  of  human  beings  to 
God  were  the  inventions  of  priestcraft,  and 
were,  in  their  gift,  the  intended  selfish  pur- 
chase of  divine  favor  and  mercy  and  for- 
giveness by  individual  personalities  too 
grossly  ignorant  to  realize  that  the  priests  fed 
on  the  meats  of  sacrifice  and  deluded  the 
giver  with  false  religious  doctrines. 
*  *  * 

DIVINE  LOVE  IS  INFINITELY 
ABOVE  THE  CENTRAL  DOCTRINE  OF 
ORTHODOX  CHRISTIANITY. 

DIVINE  LOVE  IS  INFINITELY 
ABOVE  THE  BASIC  IDEAS  OF  THE 
JEWISH  SCRIPTURES. 

DIVINE  LOVE  IS  INFINITELY 
ABOVE  JESUS'  IDEA  OF  THE  KINGDOM 
OF  HEAVEN  FOR  THE  "ELECT"  AND 


«»    -«M  .£* 


356  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


ETERNAL  PUNISHMENT  OF  THE 
''WICKED." 

IT  IS  SPIRITUAL  SLAVERY  TO  BE- 
LIEVE THAT  THE  BLOOD  ATONEMENT, 
THE  SHEDDING  OF  THE  BLOOD  OF 
JESUS,  WAS  THE  DIVINE  PLAN 
WHEREBY  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN 
SHOULD  BE  ATTAINED  BY  THE 
CHOSEN  OF  GOD. 

THE  DIVINE  PLAN  FOR  HUMANITY 
IS  ENTIRELY  OPPOSED  TO  THE  CON- 
CEPTS OF  JUDAISM  AND  OF  ORTHO- 
DOX CHRISTIANITY,  WHICH  ADOPTED 
ESSENTIAL  JUDAISM. 


Each  disciple  realized  at  last  that  every  shred 
of  Christian  orthodoxy  must  be  cast  aside  and 
new  spiritual  garments  of  supreme  honor  to  the 
Infinite  One  must  clothe  the  soul  if  the  teachings 
of  the  Society  should  be  found  worthy. 

Mildred  Thatcher,  commenting  upon  the  Blood 
Atonement,  said: 

"In  studying  the  Evolution  of  Religion,  it  is 
very  interesting  to  trace  the  idea  of  sacrifice  up 
from  the  first  ignorant  superstitious  offerings  to 
the  final  mental  climax  that  only  the  sacrifice  of  a 
Son  of  God  would  propitiate  Divine  Wrath  against 
sinners. 

But  when  we  realize  that  the  whole  system 
from  beginning  to  end  is  based  on  both  super- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  357 

stition  and  ignorance  of  God  and  His  true  relation 
to  humanity,  we  can  only  pity  our  Christian 
friends  who  cling  to  the  belief  in  the  blood  atone- 
ment. ' ' 

In  answer  to  her,  Darwin  Snowson  said: 

* '  Yes,  Mildred,  we  who  have  the  light  of  truth 
may  well  pity  those  who  are  still  beclouded  in  the 
shadows  of  old  beliefs. 

"The  correlative  doctrine  that  Jesus  is  a  per- 
petual 'mediator'  between  humanity  and  God, 
is  equally  baseless  with  the  idea  of  a  blood  atone- 
ment. 

"Divine  Love  does  not  occupy  the  status  of  a 
'King  of  Kings'  or  an  inflexible  judge.  It  is  in- 
finitely higher  than  the  highest  spiritual  love  that 
humanity  in  its  ultimate  development  will  ever 
bear  towards  its  own  members  or  towards  God. 

"During  the  past  fifty  years  Christian  sects 
have  developed  many  ideas  of  the  love  of  God 
which  are  strangely  at  variance  with  the  state- 
ments of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  but 
as  evolutionists,  we  appreciate  keenly  that  they 
are  on  the  way  towards  the  true  religion. 

"In  this  connection,  the  next  segment  of  the 
Scroll  will  interest  you." 

The  next  segment  of  the  uprolling  scroll  made 
acknowledgments  which  gave  the  scientific  view 
of  the  evolutional  value  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
upon  the  upward  spiritual  march  of  humanity, 
and  after  reading  its  message  seven  times,  many 
a  disciple  had  a  truer  vision  of  the  honesty  of 
science  in  dealing  with  the  great  problems  of 
mankind. 


358  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


SOME  OF  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 
HAVE  AIDED  HUMAN  PROGRESS  JUST 
AS  SOME  HAVE  RETARDED  IT. 

The  spiritual  value  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  including  what  is  called  the  "Lord's 
Prayer,"  should  not  be  lightly  dismissed,  not- 
withstanding we  now  know  that  within  the 
teachings  lie  certain  doctrines  which  dishonor 

God. 

*  *      * 

The  spiritual  value  of  the  teachings  of 
Confucius  and  of  Buddha  likewise  should  not 
be  disregarded,  for  they  have  been  the  spirit- 
ual inspiration  of  hundreds  of  millions  more 
than  have  ever  received  spiritual  benefit  from 

any  teaching  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

*  *      * 

The  spiritual  value  of  the  "Golden  Rule," 
notwithstanding  Jesus  was  only  an  adapter, 
has  been,  and  still  is,  of  high  character. 

It  holds  the  germ  of  spiritual  co-operation, 
though  Jesus  and  his  contemporaries  had  no 
conception  of  the  real  brotherhood  of  man, 
and  they  dreamed  not  of  the  oneness  of  all 
mankind  and  its  grand  march  along  the  Up- 
ward Way. 

*»*  •**  **^ 

Even  the  teachings  of  Jesus  respecting 
the  Kingdom  of  heaven  and  of  the  rewards 
and  punishments  to  be  awarded  '  'in  the  resur- 
rection" to  the  righteous  and  the  wicked 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  359 


when  weighed  in  the  scale  of  spiritual  evolu- 
tion, are  found  to  have  had  definite  potency 
in  the  spiritual  progress  of  millions. 

EVEN  THE  UNTRUE  AND  THE  HALF- 
TRUE  MAY  THUS  SERVE  TRUTH. 

*  *      * 

You  should  know  that  the  uplifting  proc- 
ess necessarily  has  been  working  towards 
Truth  and  through  half-truths  has  slowly 
gained  knowledge  of  much  actual  Truth. 

*  *      * 

THE  UPWARD  JOURNEY  OF  HU- 
MANITY TOWARDS  GOD  HAS  BEEN 
GREATLY  AIDED  AT  TIMES  BY  THE 
SUBLIMATION  OF  SOME  OF  THE 
IDEALS  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  AND 
LIKEWISE  BY  THE  IDEALIZATION  OF 
SOME  OF  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS. 

WORKING  IN  THE  UPLIFTING  PROC- 
ESS, DIVINE  LOVE  FOUND  AMONG  THE 
HALF-TRUTHS  OF  "THE  SCRIPTURES" 
POTENCIES  WHICH  HAVE  HELPED 
MILLIONS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  PERSONAL- 
ITIES TO  BETTER  SPIRITUALITY. 

AND  IN  SOME  DEGREE,  SINCE  THE 
BEGINNING  OF  HUMAN  LIFE,  SO,  TOO, 
HAS  THE  IMPELLING  POWER  OF  DI- 
VINE LOVE  FOR  HUMANITY  WORKING 
IN  EVERY  RELIGION  OF  MORAL  POW- 
ER, HELPED  TOWARDS  BETTER  SPIR- 
ITUALITY. 


360  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Separated  from  the  upper  half  of  the  segment 
by  seven  broad  lines  was  the  promised  tribute  to 
those  who  had  found  in  Christianity  the  inspira- 
tion to  good  deeds,  right  conduct  and  sincere  love 
of  God. 


REALIZING  KEENLY  THAT  THE 
EMANCIPATION  OF  HUMANITY  FROM 
THE  VAST  REALM  OF  UNTRUTH  TO 
WHICH  BELIEF  IN  THE  DIVINE  IN- 
SPIRATION OF  THE  BIBLE  HAD  EN- 
CHAINED LARGE  PORTIONS  OF  OUR 
RACE  HAS  NOT  BEEN  DUE  TO  CHRIS- 
TIANITY, BUT  LARGELY  IN  SPITE  OF 
CHRISTIANITY  THE  SOCIETY  OF  PROG- 
RESS NOW  WISHES  TO  PAY  A  TRIB- 
UTE TO  THE  MANY  WHO  HAVE  FOUND 
IN  THE  HALF-TRUTHS  OF  THE  BIBLE 
THE  INSPIRATION  TO  SPIRITUAL 

PROGRESS. 

*      *      * 

Today  we  would  not  be  able  to  co-ordinate 
Science  and  Religion  if  the  idealization  of 
some  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus  had  not  blos- 
somed in  sweetness  within  the  personalities 
of  many  who  have  deemed  themselves  true 
Christians. 

We  know  now  that  our  fathers  and  our 
mothers,  and  all  the  dear  ones  who,  as  Chris- 
tians, have  passed  on  to  the  plane  of  existence 
beyond  the  death  of  the  body,  were  far 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  361 


evolved  spiritually  and  were  advancing  along 
the  Upward  Way  towards  God. 

Beyond  question,  we  believe  that  they  are 
continuing  to  progress  in  spirituality  and  in 
acquisition  of  truth,  and  we  believe  that  as 
they  go  on  they  will  learn  that  the  Bible  they 
revered  dishonors  God  and  that  the  "redemp- 
tion" they  relied  upon  places  God  in  a  false 
relation  to  humanity;  but  also  that  they  will 
gain  supremely  higher  concepts  of  God  and 
Divine  Love. 


In  the  records  of  the  Council  Chamber,  Marie 
Templeton  was  reported  to  have  said  anent  the 
two  segments  of  the  Scroll  which  were  joined  by 
the  seven  lines: 

"I  believe  it  will  be  rather  difficult  for  many 
Christians  to  realize  that  a  Progressist  views  all 
religions  alike,  and  that  from  his  standpoint  they 
are  to  be  considered  solely  as  to  the  value  they 
have  been  to  humanity  and  to  portions  of  the  race 
in  stimulating  better  ideals  and  better  concepts 
of  God." 

Robert  Young,  in  response,  said: 

"Of  course,  Marie,  a  spiritual  evolutionist  gar- 
ners all  the  religious  history  of  the  past,  so  far 
as  he  can,  and  finds  in  many  of  the  religions  of 
mankind  some  germinating  ideas  which  have  com- 
bined in  many  ways  to  place  the  farthest  evolved 
a  little  higher  on  the  Upward  Way. ' ' 


362  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

A  saying  of  Zora  Wells  was  also  recorded : 

"I  have  read  the  awful  history  of  the  dark 
ages  and  of  the  unspeakable  cruelties  which  were 
perpetrated  in  the  name  of  Christ ;  I  have  learned 
how  the  literal  interpretation  of  the  Bible  de- 
stroyed truth  and  martyred  truth-seekers;  I  have 
seen  in  our  own  city  the  cruel  ostracism  by  sec- 
tarian bigotry  of  honest  apostates,  so  I  might  well 
believe  that  progress  came  in  spite  of  Christian- 
ity; but  I  know  also  that  amongst  the  less  than 
half-truths  of  Mormon  doctrines,  have  arisen 
many  lives  of  self-sacrificing  spirituality. ' ' 

The  Lesser  Master,  continuing  the  primal 
thought  of  Zora's  comment,  said: 

"Zora,  in  Japan  and  China  and  India,  the  faces 
of  many  of  the  older  women  bear  the  look  of  high 
serenity  which  a  life  of  goodness  and  self-sacrifice 
and  fundamental  spirituality  gives,  and  many  of 
the  men  are  honest  and  morally  brave  and  faithful 
within  their  environment.  So  the  half-truths  of 
the  teachings  of  Buddha  and  Confucius  have  also 
had  power  to  help  portions  of  mankind  along  the 
Upward  Way.  The  great  process  has  had  a  won- 
derful history,  but,  after  all,  it  is  through  the 
revelations  of  science  that  we  gain  clear  vision  and 
all  that  Jesus  taught  or  Buddha  or  Confucius 
could  never  have  established  the  realm  of  truth 
which  has  given  us  our  knowledge  of  the  Divine 
Plan." 

There  remained  but  one  unread  Scroll  in  the 
"Room  of  Opened  Eyes,"  and  its  message  in  part 
anticipated  some  of  the  teachings  of  the  Seventh 
Degree. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  363 


SCROLL  VI. 

THE  FATHERHOOD  OF  GOD. 

Undoubtedly  the  teachings  of  Jesus  which 
have  been  of  the  highest  spiritual  value  to 
humanity  are  those  in  which  he  endeavored 
to  preach  the  fatherhood  of  God. 

As  he  taught  it,  it  was  a  strange  father- 
hood, and  even  in  its  best  aspects  it  was  such 
a  relationship  as  placed  God  in  a  false  posi- 
tion towards  human  personality. 

But  in  the  progress  of  spiritual  evolution, 
the  idea  of  divine  fatherhood  has  blossomed 
into  such  higher  concepts  of  God  as  Jesus 
never  knew,  and  these  concepts  are  strangely 
at  variance  with  the  awful  ideas  of  God 
which  permeate  the  Old  Testament,  the 

" Scripture"  which  Jesus  revered  as  truth. 

*  *      * 

JESUS  DID  NOT  KNOW  THAT  GOD 
RULES  THE  UNIVERSE  BY  UNCHANGE- 
ABLE LAWS  WHICH  DO  NOT  REWARD 
OR  PUNISH  INDIVIDUALS  OR  NATIONS 
EXCEPT  AS  THE  LAWS  HAVE  POTENCY 
IN  IMPARTIAL  WAYS  TO  CONTROL  BY 
GENERAL  ACTION  THE  REALM  OF  HU- 
MAN ACTIVITIES. 

*  *      * 

Jesus  conceived  God  as  an  ever-active 
agency  in  human  destiny,  giving  and  with- 
holding daily  bread  as  a  human  father  might 
do;  answering  prayer  in  bestowing  material 


364  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


benefits;  rewarding  and  punishing  indi- 
viduals, both  while  on  earth  and  in  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven,  and  as  wreaking  terrible  ven- 
geance and  eternal  punishment  on  those  not 
"chosen,"  or  the  "elect." 

THE  SUPREME  MANIFESTATION  OF 
GOD  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  MANKIND— 
THE  MANIFESTATION  OF  DIVINE 
LOVE  IN  THE  SPIRITUALIZING  PROC- 
ESS WHICH  HAS  EVER  IMPELLED  OUR 
RACE  TOWARD  HIGHER  SPIRITUAL- 
ITY—IS ENTIRELY  OPPOSED  TO  THE 
IDEAS  OF  FATHERHOOD  TAUGHT  BY 
JESUS. 

THE  LESSON  OF  THE  UPWARD 
MARCH  OF  HUMANITY  IS  THAT  GOD 
DOES  NOT  DIRECTLY  INTERFERE 
WITH  HUMAN  DESTINY  AND  IS  SU- 
PREMELY IMPARTIAL  IN  ALL  HIS 
GOVERNMENT,  BY  LAW,  OF  ALL  HU- 
MANITY. 

HOWEVER  APPEALING  THE  BELIEF 
THAT  GOD  IS  A  "HEAVENLY  FATHER" 
WHO  WILL  REWARD  YOUR  FAITH  AND 
PRAYERS  WITH  THE  REWARDS  JESUS 
TAUGHT,  THE  ACTUAL  RELATIONSHIP 
OF  HUMAN  PERSONALITY  TO  THE  IN- 
FINITE ONE  IS  THE  HUMBLE  TIE  OF 
THE  FINITE  TO  THE  INFINITE. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  365 


DIVINE  LOVE  FLOODS  THE  SOULS 
OF  THE  TRUE  WORSHIPERS  OF  GOD, 
BUT  OUGHT  WE  NOT,  IN  SPIRITUAL 
HONESTY,  TO  SHRINK  FROM  GIVING 
THE  EARTHLY  AND  FINITE  TITLE  OF 
FATHER  TO  THE  SOURCE  OF  OUR  HER- 
ITAGE —  MORAL  FREEDOM  —  WHICH 
LINKS  US  TO  THE  DIVINE? 


Again  seven  broad  lines  separated  segments  of 
a  scroll,  and  ere  we  glance  at  the  message  below 
the  lines,  let  us  hear  what  some  of  the  disciples 
had  to  say  about  the  "Fatherhood  of  God." 
Zora  Wells  is  recorded  to  have  said : 
"This,  I  think,  is  my  last  surrender  of  old 
faiths.  I  also  think  that  Progressive  Christians 
will  resist  most  the  idea  that  God  is  not  the  Heav- 
enly father  as  taught  by  Jesus.  I  can  see  that  we 
have  been  believing  that  God  was  supremely  par- 
tial to  Christians,  though  many  Christians  have 
gone  far  beyond  Jesus '  ideas  by  conceiving  God  as 
a  universal  father. 


366  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"I  am  glimpsing  the  higher  ideas  of  God  which 
the  Society  has  gradually  instilled  into  our  in- 
struction. 

"It  is  more  than  a  guess  that  when  we  reach 
the  promised  constructive  work  we  will  be  taught 
much  more  about  the  Infinite  One  and  His  rela- 
tions to  us  of  the  finite  psychic  realm. ' ' 

For  answer  Darwin  Snowson  said: 

"Zora,  your  mind  is  rising  to  the  heights. 

"  Within  the  great  Plan,  we  are  permitted  to 
place  our  own  concept  on  the  relations  of  the  Al- 
mighty to  human  personality,  but  we  should  do  so 
only  with  the  clearest  vision  of  truth  that  we  can 
maintain,  after  exercise  of  all  the  intelligence  with 
which  we  are  endowed,  in  studying  the  origin, 
history  and  destiny  of  mankind. 

"You  are  right  about  the  future  instruction. 
The  Seventh  Degree  discusses  succinctly  what  we 
know  of  the  nature  of  God  and  his  relation  to 
humanity." 

Robert  Young  heard  the  statements  of  Zora 
and  Darwin  and  added  his  little  contribution  to 
the  records: 

"Zora,  if  your  Christians  who  believe  in  the 
'Universal  fatherhood  of  God'  conceive  Him  as 
the  impartial  spiritual  father  of  all  men,  pagan 
as  well  as  Christian,  'the  world'  as  well  as  'the 
saints,'  the  erring  as  well  as  the  good,  the  honest 
infidel  as  well  as  the  honest  Christian,  then  they 
are  not  Christians,  but  unwittingly  disciples  of 
progress." 

And  the  Lesser  Master  followed: 

"Every  student  of  Spiritual  Evolution  well 
understands  that  out  of  the  ideas  and  ideals  of  the 


past,  though  based  on  misconceptions  which  de- 
scend to  untruth,  there  has  ever  grown  newer  and 
better  ideas  and  ideals.  So,  out  of  the  idea  of  the 
strange  fatherhood  of  God  which  Jesus  taught, 
the  idea  of  universal  fatherhood  has  come  as  a 
natural  growth  in  the  progress  of  the  Divine  Plan. 

"Likewise,  out  of  the  idea  of  the  universal 
fatherhood  has  grown  the  supreme  ideas  of  God 
and  his  relation  to  humanity  which  we  believe  and 
teach. 

"Each  step  is  upward  in  the  scale  of  spiritual 

progress." 

*      #      * 

When  the  scroll  moved  upward  it  was  found 
that  the  instruction  took  up  a  subject  of  great  in- 
terest to  all  of  our  race  in  all  the  world. 


THE  BROTHERHOOD  OF  MAN. 
You  will  search  the  gospels  in  vain  for  any 
teachings  of  Jesus  which  establish  that  he 
comprehended  that  all  humanity  is  of  one 
race,  working  out  a  common  destiny,  under  a 
common  Divine  Plan,  which  contemplates 
that,  in  the  ultimate  spiritual  growth  of  the 
race,  it  will  climb  the  Upward  Way  to  such 
spiritual  heights  that  all  the  race  will  be 
united  in  spiritual  co-operation  and  highest 
worship  of  the  Infinite  One. 
*  *  * 

Again  we  must  point  to  the  effects  of 
spiritual  evolution. 


368  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


Far  beyond  any  concept  of  Jesus  or  his 
contemporaries,  has  grown  the  idea  of  uni- 
versal brotherhood. 

"The  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil"  are 
no  longer  to  be  shunned  by  the  farthest 
evolved  spiritually. 

We  are  learning  slowly  that  "the  world" 
constitutes  our  own  spiritual  brothers  and 
sisters  with  whom  we  must  spiritually  co- 
operate; the  flesh  is  simply  uncontrolled  ap- 
petite and  desire  common  to  all  humanity 
and  which  we  must  ourselves  control  and 
co-operate  with  our  brothers  to  control;  and 
the  devil  never  has  existed. 

WE  WILL  TEACH  THE  SPIRITUAL 
BROTHERHOOD  AND  SISTERHOOD  OF 
ALL  OUR  RACE. 

BUT  WE  WILL  NOT  TEACH  IT  AS 
JESUS  TAUGHT,  BUT  AS  THE  TRUE 
SPIRITUAL  KINSHIP  OF  ALL  HUMAN 
BEINGS  ESTABLISHED  BY  GOD'S 
GREAT  PLAN. 


Here  the  Scroll  ended,  and  here  the  instruction 
in  the  Room  of  Opened  Eyes  was  completed. 

There  remained  the  final  oral  instruction  of 
the  Sixth  Degree,  which  Robert  Young  delivered 
in  the  Chamber  of  Broken  Idols. 

In  brief  summary  we  condense  the  address, 
which  began  with  these  words: 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  369 

"Disciples  of  Progress,  you  have  now  read 
and  heard  in  this  degree  many  things  which  our 
Society  deemed  essential  not  only  for  your  own 
spiritual  progress  and  enlightenment,  but  also  to 
arm  you  with  spiritual  power  and  courage  to  de- 
stroy, within  the  souls  of  others,  the  spiritual 
idols  which  they  ignorantly  have  worshiped. 

"There  remain  some  other  things  which  the 
Society  desires  to  bring  to  your  attention. ' ' 

*  •       • 

In  the  vivid  words  of  the  Beloved  Philosopher, 
the  instructor  then  went  on  to  enlighten  the  dis- 
ciples in  the  history  and  some  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  New  Testament  books. 

I. 

He  told  of  how  the  four  gospels  in  any  existing 
version  cannot  be  relied  upon  as  giving  true  nar- 
ratives of  the  actual  life  history  of  Jesus  or  of 
his  actual  teachings. 

That  the  oldest  manuscripts  from  which  the  ex- 
isting English  versions,  as  well  as  those  in  other 
languages,  have  been  translated  are  in  Greek,  not 
Hebrew,  and  date  probably  more  than  250  years 
after  the  death  of  Jesus. 

That  neither  these  manuscripts  nor  the  orig- 
inal writings  to  which  they  probably  owe  their 
present  form  were  written  by  anyone  who  ever 
knew  Jesus  or  heard  him  speak. 

*  *      * 

That  many  modern  investigators  believe  that 
the  Book  of  Mark  is  the  earliest  of  the  so-called 
"Gospels"  and  that  the  " triple  tradition"  which 
appears  in  portions  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  and 


370  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

nearly  all  of  Mark,  contains  the  gist  of  what  was 
believed  to  be  the  life  and  sayings  of  Jesus  up  to 
about  70  A.  D.,  when  the  original  Book  of  Mark 
is  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  one  who  never 

saw  Jesus. 

*  *       * 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Book  of  Matthew  was 
not  written  by  Matthew,  the  publican,  one  of  the 
Twelve  Disciples  of  Jesus,  but  many  believe  that 
before  he  died  Matthew  instigated  the  writing  of 
a  different  manuscript,  which  is  now  lost,  contain- 
ing what  he  remembered,  years  after  the  words 
were  spoken,  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  but  not  his 
life  history. 

That  the  book  we  know  as  Matthew  was  prob- 
ably composed  80  or  100  A.  D.,  and,  in  the  mean- 
time, the  fancied  necessity  for  a  miraculous  birth, 
as  well  as  a  princely  pedigree  for  Jesus  had  pos- 
sessed the  real  writer  of  the  book,  and  probably 
the  stories  told  had  been  added  to  the  other 
miraculous  stories  which  the  ignorance  of  that  day 
must  be  fed  upon  to  fill  its  hunger  for  the  super- 
natural. 

*  *       * 

Next  was  disclosed  the  fateful  fact  that  even 
the  manuscripts  in  Greek,  of  which  there  are  quite 
a  number,  differ  from  each  other  in  essential  par- 
ticulars, and  that  the  English  and  Latin  transla- 
tions are  also  numerous  and  differ  essentially, 
and  that  the  manuscripts  themselves  differ  from 
each  other  in  such  vital  doctrinal  statements  that 
great  Christian  sects  have  been  founded  upon  the 
later  text  amongst  these  differences. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  371 

That  the  writer  of  Luke  was  not  an  apostle, 
but  was  possibly  a  follower  of  Paul,  and  that  his 
original  manuscript,  whatever  it  was,  some  critics 
say  could  not  have  been  written  earlier  than  A.  D. 
96,  but  there  is  a  consensus  of  opinion  that  it 
was  written  not  earlier  than  A.  D.  75  to  80. 

What  marvels  of  credulity  had  infected  the 
stories  of  Jesus  by  that  time  we  must  judge  from 

the  false  miracles  told  in  the  tales  of  Luke. 

*       *      * 

It  was  then  commented  upon  that  only  once  in 
the  Scrolls  in  the  Room  of  Opened  Eyes  was  a 
quotation  made  from  what  is  termed  * '  The  Gospel 
According  to  St.  John." 

In  graphic  words  the  Beloved  Philosopher  ex- 
plained that  the  Society  did  not  ivish  to  rest  its 
measure  of  the  New  Testament  upon  that  ~book, 
which,  in  the  opinion  of  most  Christians,  was 
written  by  John,  the  " beloved  disciple"  of  Jesus, 
and  contains  for  them  most  precious  words  of 
Jesus  different  from  the  narratives  of  the  other 
three  "gospel"  writers. 

Alas  for  the  faith  of  passive  believers. 

The  best  that  can  be  said  of  the  book  called 
John  is  that  it  probably  was  written  in  Asia  Minor 
by  a  Christian  theologian,  not  a  Jew,  not  earlier 
than  A.  D.  100,  and  as  a  narrative  of  events  it  is 
greatly  disputed,  while  many  of  its  purported  say- 
ings of  Jesus  which  are  different  from  the  text  of 
the  other  three  gospel  writers  bear  unquestionable 
evidence  that  they  are  what  the  writer  deemed 
essential  to  uphold  the  religious  cult  to  which  he 
belonged,  and  are  not  what  Jesus  actually  said. 


372  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

So  uncertain  are  the  Christian  critics  respect- 
ing the  true  origin  and  validity  of  the  gospels, 
whole  libraries  have  been  written  to  prove  one 
theory  or  another,  and  no  common  ground  has  yet 
been  reached,  and  probably  none  ever  will  be 

reached. 

*      *      * 

By  the  very  effective  but  simple  comparison 
of  the  earliest  Greek  manuscripts  with  the  Au- 
thorized Version,  or  King  James  Translation, 
which  is  the  accepted  English  Bible  of  most  non- 
Roman  Catholic  pulpits  and  congregations,  it  was 
found  by  the  English  Commission  of  Revision 
which  prepared  the  earlier  or  English  "Revised 
Version"  (not  the  American  Revision  of  1901) 
that  the  translators  of  the  "King  James  Bible" 
had  falsely  translated  certain  passages,  and 
adopted  others  upon  which  the  doctrine  of  the 
"Trinity"  rests,  and  that  the  union  of  three,  "the 
Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,"  the  "Three 
in  One,"  "The  Godhead"  or  the  "Triune  God" 
of  Catholicism  and  Protestant  Episcopalianism, 
and  perhaps  other  Christian  sects,  is  based  on 
mistranslations,  and  on  interpolations  made 
hundreds  of  years  after  the  book,  in  which  it  ap- 
pears, was  originally  written. 

All  the  really  important  early  manuscripts  do 
not  have  the  seventh  verse  of  the  fifth  chapter  of 
the  book  called  the  "First  Epistle  General  of 
John."  "The  verse  first  appears  in  a  Confession 
of  Faith  drawn  up  by  an  obscure  zealot  towards 
the  end  of  the  fifth  century." 


NEW  TESTAMENT  DISHONORS  GOD  373 

Then  it  was  told  that  the  awful  sentence  which 
Andrew  D.  White  says  "has  cost  the  world  more 
innocent  Hood  than  any  other"  contained  in  the 
King  James  Bible  in  the  Sixteenth  Chapter  of 
Mark,  sixteenth  verse,  ''He  that  believeth  and  is 
baptised  shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  believeth  not 
shall  be  damned,"  appears  in  the  spurious  last 
twelve  verses  of  Mark  ivhich  do  not  appear  at 
all  in  the  very  earliest  Greek  manuscripts. 

*  *      * 

Even  the  titles  given  to  the  four  gospels  in  the 
King  James  Bible  are  not  part  of  the  original 
text,  as  the  Revisers  of  the  English  Revised  Ver- 
sion distinctly  state  in  their  preface  to  the  New 
Testament. 

The  same  Revisers  admit  that  the  King  James 
Version  which  is  so  largely  used  by  English 
speaking  Christians  contains  very  numerous  "de- 
batable passages/'  and  imply,  as  clearly  as  if  they 
had  written  it  in  capital  letters  in  red,  that  any 
person  who  relies  upon  the  verbal  infallibility  of 
the  four  gospels  as  printed  in  the  King  James 
Version,  or  even  in  their  own,  is  merely  a  deluded 
fanatic,  or  an  unreasoning  simpleton. 

*  *       * 

The  instruction  then  in  general  terms  told  that 
numerous  passages  in  Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke, 
which  purport  to  give  language  of  Jesus,  contain 
such  plain  internal  proof  that  he  could  not  have 
said  them,  that  critics,  even  though  educated  in 
Christian  theological  colleges,  substantially  agree 
that  they  represent  language  of  the  writer  and 
never  were  said  by  Jesus. 


374  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  simple  faith  which  dares  not  question  a 
word  of  the  King  James  Version  certainly  is  wor- 
shiping a  very  fallible  spiritual  idol. 

II. 

But  briefly  did  the  instruction  dwell  upon  the 
palpable  discrepancies  and  contradictions  in  the 
tales  of  the  crucifixion  and  of  the  "resurrection," 
which  are  notorious  amongst  critics  of  the  "gos- 
pels." 

The  "signs"  and  "wonders"  and  "super- 
natural" events  were  immediately  given  destruc- 
tive attention,  and  the  Beloved  Philosopher  did 
not  halt  long  on  rival  tales  of  events  which  never 
could  have  happened. 

#      #      * 

Science  now  upholds  that  miracles  are  con- 
trary to  the  "established  order  of  the  universe" 
and  belief  in  miracles  is  the  product  of  ignorance 
and  superstition. 

The  Society  of  Progress  tells  you  that  in  its 
search  for  ultimate  truths  it  has  deduced  that 
miracles  are  contrary  to  God's  Plan  revealed  in 
the  courses  of  evolution  of  the  universe. 

You  are  going  to  study  that  Plan  in  the  final 
Degree,  but  if  you  will  always  bear  in  mind  that 
God  rules  the  universe,  including  the  psychic 
realm  to  which  human  personality  belongs,  solely 
by  unchangeable  laws,  you  will  realize  that  all  the 
miracles  of  the  Buddhistic  Sacred  Books,  and  of 
the  Christian  Sacred  Books,  are  merely  "wonder 
tales"  imagined  for  the  glorification  of  the 
"Master"  who  is  the  dominant  figure  in  these 
false  records. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

ROBERT'S  PLAN — MAN  PROPOSES. 

IMMEDIATELY  to  the  eastward  of  the  City 
of  Ogden  a  portion  of  the  great  Wasatch 
Range  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  system  rises  to 
magnificent  proportions,  forming  a  splendid  back- 
ground to  the  noted  railroad  gateway. 

The  constant  tide  of  travel  over  a  number  of 
transcontinental  railroads  has  made  the  junction 
city  a  well-known  point  of  interest  to  those  who  go 
to  and  from  the  Pacific  Coast  on  the  central 
routes. 

But  few  of  the  many  thousands  who  annually 
pass  through  the  enterprising  city  are  aware  that 
nature  has  given  to  the  Ogdenites,  in  their  very 
backyard,  a  mountain  canyon  both  grand  and 
beautiful. 

When  Marie  Templeton  had  finished  her  study 
of  the  instruction  of  the  Sixth  Degree  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Progress,  it  chanced  that  Mollie  Richards 
remained  chatting  with  her  until  Robert  Young 
was  released  from  the  thronging  disciples  who  al- 
ways eagerly  embraced  the  opportunity  to  tell  the 
instructor  how  deeply  they  had  been  interested  in 
the  instruction. 

Robert  had  patiently  received  each  eager  dis- 
ciple, and  none  could  have  told  from  his  frank, 
interested  demeanor  that  surging  in  his  arteries 
was  the  blood  of  a  lover  who  had  determined  to 

375 


376  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

risk  his  fate  in  frank  avowal  of  his  devotion  to 
the  sweet  girl  he  adored. 

Eobert  had  determined  that  if  possible  his 
should  be  one  proposal  made  where  it  was  deliber- 
ately designed  to  make  it.  To  his  mind  had  come 
remembrance  of  a  place  he  deemed  ideal  for  the 
confession  of  his  love. 

Marie  had  promised  to  take  an  unchaperoned 
automobile  ride  with  him,  and  after  artfully  sep- 
arating her  from  Mollie  Richards,  Robert  ascer- 
tained that  she  had  no  objections  to  taking  a  trout 
dinner  with  him  in  Ogden  Canyon  at  noon  on  the 
morrow. 

Amongst  college  graduates,  more  especially  of 
co-educational  schools  west  of  New  England, 
chaperonage  has  been  considered  so  lightly  as  to 
be  deemed  almost  uncomplimentary  to  the  man, 
and  Marie  did  not  necessarily  make  any  confes- 
sion of  exclusive  partiality  by  accepting  Robert's 
invitation. 

Aunt  Alice  Douglas  had  once  expressed  the 
idea  that  the  young  men  who  took  the  Seven  De- 
grees would  develop  a  chivalry  of  purity  towards 
all  womankind  which  would  eventually  be  a 
standard  of  decency  for  all  men. 

Darwin  Snowson,  in  replying  to  her,  said : 

"Aunt  Alice,  chaperonage  has  been  based  on 
the  idea  of  degenerated  animalism  in  the  men  who 
associate  with  our  daughters  and  our  sisters. 
Alas,  there  have  been  too  many  degenerates  of  the 
class  which  justified  chaperonage,  but  we  hope  to 
teach  our  adolescent  male  disciples  the  higher 
purity  which  protects  and  never  degrades.  We 
hope  also  to  build  strength  of  vision  and  knowl- 


ROBERT'S  PLAN— MAN  PROPOSES  377 

edge  into  the  lives  of  our  maturing  maidenhood  so 
that  degradation  cannot  come  to  them,  though  the 
animal-minded  tempter  bears  the  outward  sem- 
blance of  the  lover  and  makes  the  damnable  prom- 
ises of  the  libertine  who  pledges  with  no  idea  of 
fulfillment." 

It  was  Robert  Young  himself  who  then  de- 
clared : 

"Our  race  has  lacked  moral  courage  to  teach 
directly  and  plainly  the  doctrines  that  Darwin 
outlines,  but  the  moral  cowardice  which  results  in 
the  dreadful  degradation  of  many  little  sisters  of 
our  race  is  met  by  our  Society,  as  you  know,  with 
direct  challenge  of  its  degrading  results. 

"I  am  proud  to  belong  to  a  Society  which  puts 
human  progress  to  higher  spirituality  as  its  su- 
preme desire. 

"We  are  going  to  be  as  clean  in  our  conduct 
with  all  womankind  as  we  are  with  our  own 
mothers  and  sisters. 

' '  There  are  many  of  us  who  have  been,  and  the 
Divine  Plan  contemplates  that  ever  increasing 
numbers  shall  by  intelligent  spiritual  choice  put 
animalism  in  its  proper  place. 

"We  will  have  but  a  single  standard  of  social 
morals  for  both  man  and  woman,  and  that 
standard  will  be  the  purity  of  spiritual  strength 
which  the  Divine  Plan  requires." 

And  Aunt  Alice  said: 

"Good  boy,  Robert;  we  need  such  pure  vision 
and  moral  courage  as  yours.  Teach  your  youth 
that  and  there  will  result  a  wonderful  power  in 
the  world  for  the  progress  of  humanity." 


378  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

When  Robert  called  for  Marie  on  the  ap- 
pointed morning,  the  sparkling  vision  which 
greeted  him  brought  the  quick  leap  of  the  love 
light  into  his  eyes,  and  he  confirmed  in  his  heart 
his  resolve  to  confess  his  love  that  day. 

They  first  sped  West  and  past  the  clustered 
Mormon  Church  buildings  and  the  famous  statue 
of  Brigham  Young  "high  on  his  perch,  with  his 
hand  towards  the  bank  and  his  back  towards  the 
church,"  as  the  irreverent  Gentile  couplet  runs. 

Then  Northward  past  Hot  Springs  Lake  and 
the  steaming  Sulphur  Springs  which  give  their 
name  to  the  little  lake  and  which  are  the  resort  of 
thousands  who  throng  the  adjacent  sanitariums. 
Here  man,  in  1920,  had  brought  the  great  salt  sea 
which  lies  westward  half  a  score  of  miles  to  the 
service  and  pleasure  of  the  innumerable  caravans 
of  tourists  who  stop  over  in  the  beautiful  city. 

As  the  bathing  season  in  the  lake  lasts  only 
from  Decoration  Day  to  Labor  Day  each  year, 
some  enterprising  son  of  Zion  conceived  the  idea 
of  piping  and  pumping  the  clear,  intensely  saline 
water  of  the  lake  to  a  point  where  the  Hot  Springs 
water  could  be  used  to  warm  the.  sparkling  cas- 
cade of  transported  lake  water,  which  then  flows 
into  the  remarkable  tile  "floating"  tank.  It 
would  scarcely  be  proper  to  call  it  a  swimming 
tank,  as  the  bather  floats  on  the  water  the  same 
as  in  the  lake. 

It  is  by  this  means  that  no  matter  how  cold  or 
inclement  the  weather,  the  delight  and  stimulation 
of  bathing  in  nature's  greatest  brew  of  brine  can 
be  availed  of  by  any  pilgrim. 


ROBERT'S  PLAN— MAN  PROPOSES  379 

The  white  tiled  floors  and  disrobing  rooms,  and 
the  enormous  glass  roof  add  to  the  pleasure,  while 
the  sanitary  laundry  where  laundresses  in  white 
attend  the  machines  which  wash  and  sterilize  all 
used  bathing  suits  and  towels,  is  completely  in 
sight  through  the  plate  glass  walls,  which  are  kept 
dry  by  heat  radiated  from  pipes  through  which 
also  flows  the  hot  water  of  the  Springs. 

Oddly  enough  the  hot  water  requires  some 
cooling  before  it  is  used  for  the  beneficial  sulphur 
baths,  and  its  service  to  the  salt  water  is  ingeni- 
ously arranged  to  temper  it  to  the  proper  degree. 

All  this  was  explained  by  Robert  to  Marie,  as 
their  pace  was  slowed  down  along  the  splendid 
macadamized  and  oiled  road. 

Then  on  northward  flashed  the  speedy  ma- 
chine, through  Mormon  villages  and  past  the  gar- 
den center  of  Utah,  with  the  beautiful  range  of 
mountains  close  at  hand  to  the  eastward,  and  oc- 
casional glimpses  of  the  great  lake  to  be  caught 
towards  the  west. 

The  mountain  air  was  stimulating,  and 
Marie's  vivacity  counterbalanced  the  slight  re- 
straint observable  in  Robert. 

Over  the  sand  hills  close  to  the  Weber  River 
which  skirts  the  border  of  Ogden  they  swiftly 
rode,  then  across  the  bridge,  then  through  the  city 
itself  at  moderate  speed.  Robert  was  thinking  of 
Paradise,  while  Marie  seemed  most  intent  on  de- 
vouring that  promised  trout  dinner. 

But  from  the  moment  they  entered  the  narrow 
jaws  of  the  canyon,  Marie  forgot  the  dinner  and 
constituted  an  altogether  charming  series  of  ex- 


380  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

clamation  points  interspersed  with  ripples  of  ad- 
miration for  the  wonderful  vistas. 

The  foaming  cascades  just  below  them  and 
magnificent  walls  of  rock  assuming  a  hundred  dif- 
ferent shapes  as  they  slowly  rode  up  the  well  built 
road  so  interested  Marie  that  she  was  surprised 
when  Robert  drove  up  in  front  of  a  log-built  inn 
and  announced  that  the  trout  dinner  was  at  hand. 

Even  Robert,  with  his  happiness  depending 
upon  the  fate  of  the  next  hour,  thoroughly  enjoyed 
the  firm-fleshed,  deliciously  fried  trout,  scarcely 
half  an  hour  out  of  the  cold  mountain  stream. 

With  his  little  plan  on  the  verge  of  fulfillment, 
Robert  found  Marie  entirely  willing  to  climb  to  a 
secluded  spot  above  the  inn,  and  from  which  the 
view  was  very  absorbing  to  her  for  a  time  which 
seemed  long  to  Robert. 

A  few  magnificent  clouds  floating  across  the 
canyon  added  the  magic  of  alternate  light  and 
shade  to  the  enchantment. 

Robert  had  watched  Marie  more  than  the 
panorama  of  beauty  and  grandeur,  and  at  last  she 
became  conscious  of  that  circumstance. 

"Big  Boy,  why  don't  you  enjoy  the  view.  Is 
it  all  so  familiar  to  you  that  it  has  lost  its 
charm!" 

Then  Robert,  the  Stalwart,  began  his  little 
speech. 

"  Marie,  little  girl,  I  have  something  to  say  to 
you,  and  to  say  it  where  the  remembrance  will 
always  be  something  for  me  to  cherish,  whether  it 
pleases  you  or  not,  I  have  brought  you  to  this 
beautiful  spot." 


ROBERT'S  PLAN— MAN  PROPOSES  381 

"With  the  last  word,  a  deafening  crash  of 
thunder  startled  the  two  on  the  knoll,  and  immedi- 
ately there  splashed  upon  them  big  warning  drops 
from  a  black  cloud  which  had  now  projected  its 
shadow  over  the  rim  of  the  canyon  which  had  been 
at  the  back  of  their  seats. 

Springing  to  her  feet,  Marie  exclaimed : 

"Bobby,  I'm  afraid  you'll  have  to  give  up  your 
plan,  whatever  it  is.  Can't  you  make  your  little 
speech  on  the  secluded  corner  of  the  inn  porch  I 
It  may  not  be  so  romantic,  but  it  will  be  more  com- 
fortable. Let's  run!  It's  going  to  pour." 

With  that  she  seized  his  hand  and  flew  down 
the  path  to  the  inn,  arriving  breathless,  but  just 
in  time  to  escape  a  heavy  downpour. 

All  of  the  porch  was  vacant,  but  Marie  quickly 
preceded  Robert  to  the  corner  which  was  actually 
secluded,  and,  throwing  herself  into  a  comfortable 
rocker,  said: 

"Now,  Big  Boy,  don't  you  think  this  is  better 
for  the  present  f  It  certainly  is  for  my  gown  and 
my  comfort." 

Then,  very  innocently,  but  with  a  latent 
sparkle  in  her  eyes : 

"What  was  it  you  started  to  say  to  me?" 

Robert  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  seizing  Marie 
in  his  strong  hands  he  lifted  her  to  a  standing  po- 
sition on  the  chair  in  which  he  had  been  sitting, 
which  placed  her  eyes  but  little  above  a  level  with 
his,  and  then  without  pause  he  said : 

"Marie,  never  mind  my  plan.  I  love  you  far 
beyond  any  dream  of  loving  I  ever  had  before  I 
met  you,  and  I  want  you  to  marry  me  more  than 


382  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

anything  I  ever  longed  for  in  all  my  life.  Will 
you  marry  me,  little  girlie?" 

Marie  looked  straight  into  the  eyes  of  her 
lover  and  for  so  long  that  he  grew  puzzled  and 
almost  dreaded  her  answer.  Then  her  eyes  grew 
alight  and  strong  hope  came  to  him  ere  she  spoke. 

"  Robert,  Aunt  Alice  Douglas  told  me  that 
some  day  you  would  want  me  and  she  read  to  nie 
what  is  said  about  marriage  in  the  final  instruc- 
tion of  our  Society. 

"I  honor  you,  Robert,  by  believing — yes,  by 
knowing,  that  you  will  always  carry  out  with  utter 
honesty  your  part  of  the  comradeship  which  our 
Society  offers  as  its  ideal  of  married  companion- 
ship. 

4 'Oh,  Bobby,  you  fine,  upstanding  lad,  if  I 
had  not  felt  that  I,  too,  can  carry  out  my  part  of 
the  comradeship,  I  would  have  gone  back  to  my 
Eastern  home  broken  hearted  without  letting  you 
speak. 

''I'm  going  to  answer  part  of  your  unspoken 
speech,  Bobby.  I'm  proud  of  your  hard-headed 
old  Mormon  great-grandfather  for  having  such  a 
fine,  clean-hearted,  lovable,  Big  Boy  great-grand- 
son, and  I'll  marry  him  without  a  shadow  of  any 
kind  between  us." 

In  after  days,  Bobby  vowed  that  his  arms  and 
lips  met  hers  more  than  half  way,  and  she,  as  his 
life  comrade,  disputed  the  claim. 

Notwithstanding  nature's  rude  and  clamorous 
disarrangement  of  Robert's  cherished  plan,  it  was 
in  beautiful  Ogden  Canyon  that  the  romance  of 
the  Sixth  Degree  reached  its  climax. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE. 
THE  CHAMBER  OF  THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS. 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  SEVENTH  DE- 
GREE is  the  romance  of  the  whole  book, 
and  if  in  it  there  be  a  romance  of  the  Be- 
loved Philosopher  is  it  not  most  fitting? 

And  if  the  fate  of  Darwin  Snowson  be  wrapped 
up  in  a  renunciation  of  long-cherished  dreams 
shall  one  say  it  ought  not  thus  to  happen? 

Because  the  romance  is  inevitably  involved  in 
the  closing  chapters  of  the  book,  will  we  turn  with 
less  interest  to  read  the  climax  of  the  Seven  De- 
grees? 

It  was  certainly  not  with  decreasing  interest 
that  each  disciple  of  the  Society  of  Progress  en- 
tered the  outer  door  of  the  "Chamber  of  the  Re- 
ligion of  Progress." 

A  sense  of  familiarity  came  to  all  who  stepped 
within  the  outer  door,  for  here  was  an  exact  du- 
plication of  the  entrance  to  the  Chamber  of 
Truth. 

Instinctively  the  disciple  turned  to  look  at  the 
back  of  the  entrance  door,  and  thereon  appeared 
a  message  in  white  letters  upon  ebony,  even  as 
was  the  message  which  first  greeted  the  initiate 
when  he  began  the  instruction  of  the  Society. 


383 


384  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


BROTHER  AND  SISTER  OF  OUR  RACE. 

Our  Society  recognizes  to  the  full  that 
each  personality — each  soul — has,  by  divine 
sanction,  the  inalienable  right  to  ask,  and  to 
seek,  with  all  the  intelligence  with  which  it 
is  endowed,  answers  to  these  questions: 

WHAT  DOES  IT  ALL  MEAN? 

FROM  WHENCE  DID  WE  COME? 

WHY  ARE  WE  HERE? 

WHAT  IS  THE  BEST  WE  CAN  DO 
WHILE  WE  ARE  HERE? 

WHITHER  DO  WE  GO? 

*      *      * 

If  Science  and  Religion  had  no  common 
ground,  if  there  were  no  "fundamental  har- 
mony" between  them,  it  would  still  be  our 
duty  to  give  absolute  weight  to  the  truths 
revealed  by  Science. 

But,  in  the  great  Cosmic  Process  of  God 
there  is  clearly  revealed,  not  only  a  reconcil- 
iation and  harmony  between  Science  and  Re- 
ligion, but  also  a  Religion  of  Science  which 
must  be  the  Religion  of  the  Future,  and  this 
religion  is  fundamentally  and  essentially  The 
Religion  of  Progress. 

It  is  the  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS  be- 
cause it  will  ever  harmonize  with  the  DI- 
VINE PLAN  FOR  HUMANITY,  and  this 
DIVINE  PLAN  shines  out  in  the  necessary 
conclusions  which  Science  must  reach  in  con- 
templating the  origin,  the  history  and  the 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  385 


destiny  of  the  human  race,  as  you  will  be 
taught.  *      *      * 

ENTER  NOW  THE  CHAMBER  OF  THE 
RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS  AND  LEARN 
WHAT  SCIENCE  HAS  TO  TEACH  OF 
THE  FAITH  WHICH  MUST  SUPERSEDE 
ALL  OTHER  FAITHS. 


It  was  part  of  the  history  of  the  Society  that 
many  a  disciple  read  a  score  of  times  the  "Mes- 
sage on  the  Last  Door, "  as  it  came  to  be  called. 

Mildred  Thatcher,  after  finishing  the  Degree, 
said: 

"My  soul  leaped  out  to  glean  every  word  of 
the  'Message  on  the  Last  Door,'  and  the  several 
paragraphs  gave  such  promise  of  the  instruction 
to  come,  I  could  scarcely  wait  to  have  the  curtain 
withdrawn. ' ' 

Zora  Wells,  in  lighter  mood,  once  remarked : 

"Being  a  woman,  those  five  questions  natur- 
ally fascinated  me,  and  when  I  had  studied  them 
a  while  I  said  to  myself,  'Well,  if  honest  answers 
are  made  to  those  questions  I'm  sure  that  there 
will  be  some  small  matters  to  be  learned  after  we 
have  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil. '  ' ' 

The  bronze  gate  opened  and  the  curtain  with- 
drawn, the  disciple  entered  into  a  chamber  of 
white  and  gold  and  was  led  to  a  seat  before  a 
beautifully  ornamented  screen  which  extended 
from  the  floor  almost  to  the  ceiling. 


386  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

At  the  appointed  moment  the  screen  noise- 
lessly moved  upward  and  a  huge  book  appeared, 
taller  than  a  man,  standing  upright  as  if  about  to 
be  opened,  with  bottom  raised  some  distance  from 
the  floor. 

As  the  disciple  gazed  upon  the  untitled  white 
and  gold  cover  of  the  book  it  slowly  pivoted  to 
the  left,  and  the  first  page  appeared. 

Upon  it  was  a  legend  within  paneled  borders, 
and  occupying  but  a  part  of  the  page. 

Throughout  the  book  the  letters  were  pure 
black. 


1. 
BE  WARNED  NOW. 

Lest  one  shall  say  this  is  the  sacred  book  of 
the  Religion  of  Progress,  the  Society  of 
Progress  now  disclaims  entirely  any  sanctity 
to  the  book  or  its  contents. 

In  so  far  as  it  speaks  Truth  it  belongs  to 
Mankind,  and  we  aim  to  say  nothing  but  the 
Truth  as  it  now  appeareth. 
But  to  claim  that  the  book  is  inspired  or  is 
more  than  the  result  of  human  knowledge 
would  be  to  deny  all  its  contents. 
God  reveals  Himself  in  His  works,  and  hu- 
manity must  learn  the  Truth  by  the  study  of 
God's  universe  and  His  Process  of  the  Uni- 
verse. 

This  book  was  devised  for  convenience  of  in- 
struction and  not  as  a  new  Bible. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  387 

Because  the  great  book  had  no  title  it  was  in- 
evitable that  the  disciples  would  coin  a  name  for 
it.  After  a  number  of  suggestions  had  been  made, 
a  singular  name  began  to  gain  favor,  and  ere  long 
"The  Building  Book"  became  the  recognized 
title  amongst  all. 

It  was  a  tradition  that  Naomi  Snowson  sug- 
gested the  name  and  that  in  doing  so  she  had  said: 

"The  Sixth  Degree  destroyed  spiritual  idols, 
but  the  Seventh  Degree  builds  a  new  structure  of 
better  spirituality  and  the  great  book  is  the  Build- 
ing Book." 

When  the  second  leaf  of  the  Building  Book 
was  swung  to  the  left,  the  disciples  beheld  this: 


2. 
GOD'S  PLAN. 

IS  THERE  A  PLAN? 

At  the  outset  of  the  constructive  religious 
work  of  our  Society  it  would  be  unwise  not 
to  distinctly  proclaim  that  amongst  scientific 
philosophers  there  are  warring  conclusions 
respecting  any  plan  appearing  in  the  Cosmic 
Process. 

And,  again,  some  who  discern  Infinite 
Intelligence  working  in  all  things,  in  preor- 
dained design,  fail  to  comprehend  that 
Infinite  Purposive  Goodness  is  likewise  mani- 
fested in  the  Divine  Plan. 


388  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Yet,  though  philosophers  profound,  in 
pride  of  partially  evolved  finite  rationality, 
fail  to  discern  the  greatest  fact  which  human- 
ity can  learn,  Science  and  Religion  of  eternal 
necessity  must  be  one  in  the  ultimate  ration- 
ality. 

True  Religion  must  embrace  all  Truth, 
and  Science  is  always  garnering  Truth. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  PROCESS  IS  JUST 
AS  MUCH  A  PART  OF  THE  COSMIC 
PROCESS  AS  IS  THE  EVOLUTION  OF 
THE  MATERIAL  UNIVERSE. 


When  any  philosopher  admits  "estab- 
lished order"  in  the  universe  and  also  admits 
progressive  "moral  development"  in  the  evo- 
lution of  mankind,  he  would  be  lost  in  a  fog 
of  rationality  if  he  failed  to  go  on  and  admit 
that  EITHER  IN  THE  UNIVERSE  OR 
FROM  THE  SOURCE  OF  THE  UNIVERSE, 
THERE  COMES  AMPLE  PROOF  OF  THE 
PURPOSIVE  ELEMENT  IN  ALL  EVOLU- 
TION. 

*  *      * 

A  poet  glimpsed  the  great  truth  that  all 
things  are  moving  "to  a  far-off,  divine 

event." 

*  *      * 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  389 


In  our  little  speck  of  the  great  universe 
"we  must,  in  order  to  live  at  all,  recognize 
the  existence  of  matter,  motion  and  cause," 
our  physical  selves  "being  parts  of  the  ma- 
terial universe,  and  our  progress  as  gregari- 
ous animals  being  part  of  the  cosmic  pro- 
cess;" so,  also,  we  must  "recognize  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  religious  passion,"  in  the 
growth  of  true  spirituality  amongst  man- 
kind, something  to  be  valued  supremely,  and 
this,  too,  is  "as  truly  a  part  of  the  cosmic 
process  as  the  other." 


To  ascribe  the  cosmic  process,  which  de- 
velops spirituality,  to  chance,  or  to  merely 
mechanical  forces,  does  not  comport  with  the 
facts  of  spiritual  evolution. 

*      #      # 

THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS  AS- 
SERTS AS  A  SCIENTIFIC  FACT  THAT 
THERE  IS  A  DIVINE  PLAN  MANIFEST 
IN  COSMIC  EVOLUTION  AND  THAT  NO 
OTHER  EXPLANATION  CAN  ACCOUNT 
FOR  THE  SPIRITUAL  PROGRESS  OF 
HUMANITY. 


390  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

In  the  Instruction  of  the  Seventh  Degree,  Dar- 
win Snowson,  who  was  the  one  of  the  Seven  who 
delivered  the  oral  messages,  always  explained 
that  it  was  the  avowed  object  of  the  Society  of 
Progress  to  make  its  instruction  so  simple  and 
clear  that  a  person  who  had  attained  a  common 
school  education  by  careful  study  could  compre- 
hend the  principles  which  were  taught. 

Marie  Templeton,  upon  hearing  this,  remarked 
to  Zora  Wells  that  she  thought  the  second  page 
of  the  Building  Book  would  perhaps  be  beyond 
the  grasp  of  some  college  graduates,  but  instantly 
in  the  instruction  Darwin  Snowson  explained  that 
sometimes  it  had  become  necessary  to  touch  upon 
questions  of  philosophy  so  that  there  could  be  no 
doubt  in  the  minds  of  even  philosophers  as  to  the 
fundamental  teachings  of  the  Religion  of  Prog- 
ress, and  that  some  conclusions  were  necessarily 
drawn  in  advance  of  the  complete  proofs,  but  be- 
cause religion  itself  is  evolving,  the  future  held 
much  in  store  for  seekers  of  the  highest  truths. 

On  the  next  few  pages  of  the  white  book  the 
firm  foundation  of  the  new  religion  was  "  built 
upon  a  rock,"  the  rock  of  scientific  truth. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE     391 

3. 
THE  PROOF  OF  THE  PLAN. 

There  is  ample  proof  of  God's  Plan — a 
mighty  Plan — a  Plan  so  wonderful  that  even 
the  little  glimpses  of  it  which  the  finite  can 
gain,  fill  us  with  deepest  soul  love  for  God, 
and  with  profound  spiritual  inspiration 
which  reaches  ever  upward  towards  the  In- 
finite One,  with  bright  hope,  and  clear  faith, 
and  strong  spiritual  desire. 


A  million  centuries  evidence  on  earth  the 
working  out  of  the  Divine  Plan — the  supreme  j 
purpose  of  terrestrial  evolution. 

Doubtless  the  Plan  reaches  backward  to 
the  infinitude  of  the  past,  when  the  Almighty 
— "the  Uncaused  First  Cause" — decreed  the 
courses  of  all  evolution. 

Doubtless,  too,  the  Plan  pervades  the  Cos- 
mos, and  spiritual  life  is  evolving  in  countless 
worlds  other  than  ours. 


Science,  the  better  sister  of  philosophy,  in 
its  revelations  of  the  evolution  of  human  per- 


392  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


sonality,  presents  proof  of  a  Divine  Plan 
which  is  radiant  with  hope,  not  only  to  the 
individual  personality,  but  in  higher  degree 
to  the  entire  race  of  human  beings. 

SCIENCE  FINDS  THE  COURSE  OF 
EVOLUTION  OF  EARTH  AND  ITS 
CREATURES  DEMONSTRATING  IN  THE 
PAST  AND  NOW  DEMONSTRATING  A 
WONDERFULLY  HIGHER  PURPOSE 
THAN  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  A  PHYS- 
ICAL WORLD  WITH  COMPLEX  PHYS- 
ICAL LIFE  THEREON. 


We  must  judge  of  the  Infinite  purpose  by 
the  ascertained  facts  of  evolution,  and  these 
facts  are  so  plain  that  the  broader  view  turns 
a  thousand  complexities  which  vex  philoso- 
phers into  clear  proof  of  a  Divine  Plan  which 
makes  the  entire  foundation  of  the  Religion 
of  Progress. 


The  page  ended  here,  and  critical  disciples  felt 
that  the  promised  proof  of  the  Plan  must  yet  ap- 
pear, and  as  the  leaf  of  the  beautiful  book  swung 
to  the  left  they  looked  longingly  upon  the  next 
page. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE     393 


4. 
THE  PROOF  OF  THE  PLAN  (Continued). 

Not  out  of  chaos  came  our  world. 

The  physical  cosmic  material  which  in  the 
courses  of  evolution  assembled  into  the  solid 
globe  we  inhabit  always,  prior  to  its  gather- 
ing into  the  planet  we  live  on,  was  governed 
by  the  same  laws  which  now  govern  it.  ' 'Es- 
tablished order"  has  always  been  the  great 
cosmic  rule. 

Confusion  and  mere  chance  exist  no- 
where. *  *  * 

LAW  GOVERNS  AND  AFFECTS  ALL 
THINGS  PHYSICAL. 

LAW  GOVERNS  AND  AFFECTS  ALL 
THINGS  PSYCHICAL. 

LAW  GOVERNS  AND  AFFECTS  ALL 
THINGS  SPIRITUAL. 

LAW  IS  THE  CONSTANT  UNCHANG- 
ING MANIFESTATION  OF  GOD'S  WILL 
IN  ALL  EVOLUTION.  THE  COURSES 
OF  EVOLUTION,  LAW  GOVERNED,  ES- 
TABLISH THE  DIVINE  PLAN. 
*  *  * 

But  when,  in  the  dawning  life  of  human 
personality,  THE  POWER  OF  RATIONAL 
OR  SPIRITUAL  CHOICE  OF  ACTIONS 
came  to  primitive  man  in  the  courses  of  evo- 
lution, notwithstanding  the  spiritual  im- 
pulses were  then  very  feeble,  the  most  sig- 


394  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


nificant,  the  most  vital  of  all  the  facts  of 
earthly  evolution,  then  appeared. 

*  #      * 

THE  COSMIC  PROCESS  HAD 
EVOLVED,  ON  EARTH,  THE  BEING 
WHOSE  PHYSICAL  DESCENDANTS 
WOULD  BE  ENDOWED  WITH  PSYCHIC 
PERSONALITIES  CAPABLE  OF  EVOLU- 
TION TOWARDS  HIGHER  SPIRITUAL- 

ITY. 

*  *      * 

The  ape-like  man  of  a  thousand  or  two 
thousand  centuries  ago  is  at  ONE  END  OF 
A  SCALE  WHICH  MEASURES  GOD'S 

GREAT  PLAN. 

*  *      * 

The  other  end  of  the  scale  for  the  human 
race  lies  far  forward  in  a  future  which  is  be- 
yond the  ken  of  any  human  personality  now 
inhabiting  the  animal  body  with  which  per- 
sonality is  associated  while  on  earth. 

FOR  THE  INDIVIDUAL  HUMAN  PER- 
SONALITY, NOW  LIVING  FOR  YOU  AND 
FOR  ME,  THE  OTHER  END  OF  THE 
SCALE  LIES  BEYOND  THE  PORTALS  OF 
PHYSICAL  DEATH  OF  THE  BODY. 

*  *      * 

BUT  THE  READING  OF  THE  SCALE 
IS  CLEAR  AND  SPIRITUALLY  IN- 
SPIRING. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  395 

Not  yet  was  the  proof  of  the  plan  complete. 

The  disciples  had  all  studied  the  ape-like  man 
in  the  preceding  degrees  and  realized  that  the 
"zero"  of  the  great  scale  was  a  personality  with 
only  faint  premonitions  of  spirituality.  His 
"moral  sense5'  must  have  been  vague  and  his 
choice  of  actions  dominated  almost  entirely  by 
animalistic  inheritances.  In  all  probability  his 
mate  had  a  keener  sense  of  unselfishness  and  she 
only  as  to  her  child  and  her  own  mate. 

Across  the  open  book  the  glances  of  the  dis- 
ciples rested  on  the  next  segment  of  the  proof  of 
the  Plan. 


5. 

THE  PROOF  OF  THE  PLAN  (Continued.) 
THE  READING  OF  THE  SCALE. 

In  the  courses  of  evolution  our  solar  sys- 
tem was  formed  under  natural  laws. 

In  the  courses  of  evolution  under  natural 
laws  our  earth  attained  its  separate  planetary 
existence. 

In  the  courses  of  evolution  under  natural 
laws  physical  life  originated  on  earth. 

In  the  courses  of  evolution  under  natural 
laws  the  single  cell  grew  into  all  the  varied 
forms  of  physical  life  which  have  inhabited 
the  seas  and  the  sky  and  the  solid  ground. 

In  the  courses  of  evolution  on  earth  the 
pinnacle  of  physical  evolution  was  reached 


396  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 


in  the  animal  man,  who,  because  of  the 
psychic  personality  with  which  he  became  en- 
dowed, then  began  a  new  form  of  life  upon 
our  planet,  the  life  which  must  be  valued  far 
above  mere  physical  animalism,  THE  LIFE 
OF  A  MENTAL  AND  MORAL  PERSON- 
ALITY. 

*      *      * 

GOD'S  PURPOSE  IN  TERRESTRIAL 
EVOLUTION  EVENTUATED  IN  HUMAN 
PERSONALITY,  CAPABLE  OF  BUILD- 
ING CHARACTER. 

THENCEFORTH  THE  PROGRESS  OF 
INDIVIDUAL  PERSONALITY  AND  OF 
COMMUNITIES  OF  THE  RACE  TO- 
WARDS HIGHER  INTELLECTUALITY 
AND  HIGHER  SPIRITUALITY  IS  NOT 
ONLY  CLEARLY  MANIFESTED  IN  THE 
HISTORY  OF  MANKIND,  BUT  NOW  WE 
DISCERN  THAT,  SUBJECT  ONLY  TO 
THE  DIVINE  GIFT  TO  PERSONALITY  OF 
MORAL  FREEDOM,  BOTH  INTELLEC- 
TUAL AND  SPIRITUAL  LIFE  HAVE 
EVOLVED  UNDER  PERSISTENT  COSMIC 
LAWS  WHICH  HAVE  EVENTUATED 
THROUGH  UNTOLD  AGES  IN  THE 
TRANSFORMATION  OF  OUR  FIRST  IG- 
NORANT ANIMALISTIC  ANCESTORS 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  397 


INTO  THE  HIGHEST  SPIRITUAL  TYPES 
OF  OUR  OWN  DAY,  AND  ALSO  INTO 
COMMUNITIES  OF  MEN  WHO  DELIBER- 
ATELY PLAN  FOR  UNIVERSAL  PEACE. 
BUT   THE   UPWARD   END   OF   THE 
SCALE  IS  THE  FUTURE  DESTINY  OF 
MANKIND  ON  EARTH. 
*      *      * 

THE  LAWS  WHICH  THUS  EVIDENCE 
GOD'S  PLAN  REVEAL  THE  WILL  OF 
GOD  CONSTANTLY  IMPELLING  THE 
RACE  OF  MAN  AND  INDIVIDUAL  HU- 
MAN PERSONALITY  TOWARDS  HIGHER 
SPIRITUALITY. 

CONSCIENCE  IS  AN  EVIDENCE  OF 
THE  DIVINE  FORCES  WHICH  WORK 
FOR  THE  SPIRITUAL  UPLIFT  OF  MAN. 


The  SCALE  OF  EVOLVING  SPIRITU- 
ALITY which  thus  reveals  God's  Plan  is  the 
most  vital  of  all  facts  within  human  knowl- 
edge and  finite  understanding.  When  once 
comprehended,  the  human  concept  of  the  In- 
finite One  becomes  wonderfully  transformed 
and  true  religion  chimes  completely  with  the 
highest  spiritual  hopes  of  humanity  and  the 
purest  worship  of  God. 


398  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

It  became  evident,  soon  after  the  Society  be- 
gan its  final  instruction,  that  many  disciples  read 
the  fifth  page  of  the  Building  Book  without  full 
comprehension  of  its  vital  significance. 

Darwin  Snowson  speedily  realized  that  that 
which  was  very  clear  to  the  Seven  needed  further 
explanation  to  many. 

He  would  not  insert  a  new  page  in  the  book 
which  the  Beloved  Philosopher  had  written,  but 
when  the  disciples  at  any  time  had  made  seven 
readings  of  page  five  he  caused  a  scroll,  like  in  de- 
sign to  the  pages  of  the  book,  to  roll  down  over 
page  four  and  the  message  on  this  scroll  eventu- 
ally became  known  as  the  Elementary  Instruction 
in  Human  Progress,  which  Josephine  Penrose  had 
dubbed  it. 


TRANSLATION. 

Translated  into  different  words  and  an- 
ticipating somewhat,  the  Reading  of  the 
Scale  may  be  taught  in  this  way. 

GOD'S  COSMIC  PLAN  IS  PARTLY 
EVIDENCED  TO  OUR  FINITE  MINDS  IN 
WHAT  SCIENCE  HAS  DISCLOSED  RE- 
SPECTING THE  WONDERFUL  UNI- 
VERSE IN  WHICH  OUR  SOLAR  SYSTEM 
IS  BUT  ONE  OF  UNTOLD  MILLIONS  OF 
SUCH  SYSTEMS,  WITH  A  CENTRAL  SUN 
IN  EACH,  SOME  OF  WHICH  SUNS  ARE 
VASTLY  LARGER  THAN  OURS. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  399 


Science  has  also  disclosed  that  the  SAME 
PHYSICAL  LAWS  which  govern  and  affect 
our  sun  and  its  planets,  including  our  little 
earth,  govern  and  affect  every  solar  system  in 
the  universe. 

Science  has  learned  much  respecting  the 
physical  universe  and  respecting  physical  life 
on  our  earth  by  the  discovery  of  many  of  the 
laws  which  combine  together  as  "forces"  to 
produce,  as  measured  by  time,  the  progres- 
sion of  all  things  physical  in  what  Science 
calls  their  "Courses  of  Evolution"  and  which 
we  are  wholly  justified  in  designating  as  the 
working  out  of  God's  Plan  respecting  the 
physical  universe. 


BUT  OUR  GREAT  CONCERN  NOW 
NECESSARILY  IS  WITH  OUR  OWN 
LITTLE  SPHERE. 

AND  GOD'S  PLAN  FOR  OUR  EARTH 
SHINES  OUT  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR 
EARTH  AND  OF  ALL  FORMS  OF  LIFE 
EVOLVED  ON  EARTH,  INCLUDING  MAN- 
KIND. 

*      *      * 

IF  HUMAN  PERSONALITY,  CAPA- 
BLE OF  MORAL  AND  INTELLECTUAL 
GROWTH,  HAD  NOT  COME  INTO  THE 
LIFE  OF  HUMAN  BEINGS  AS  A  PSYCHIC 


400  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


OR  SPIRITUAL  ENDOWMENT  FROM 
GOD,  THEN  OUR  EARTH  WOULD  HAVE 
REMAINED  A  "WONDER  GARDEN"  OF 
ANIMAL  LIFE,  WITH  NO  SUPERIOR  BE- 
INGS TO  GROW,  THROUGH  THE  SPIRIT- 
UAL STRUGGLES  OF  UNTOLD  AGES, 
UPWARD  TOWARDS  THE  IDEAL. 


How  do  we  know  this? 

Because  the  history  of  humanity  tells  it  in 
unmistakable  ways, 

The  original  men  and  women  were  neces- 
sarily ignorant  and  animalistic,  with  but  faint 
spiritual  impulses,  some  of  which  were  un- 
doubtedly inheritances  from  their  remoter 
animal  ancestors. 

BUT  THE  ENDOWMENT  OF  MAN 
WITH  INDIVIDUAL  PERSONALITY, 
HAVING  THE  POWER  OF  ACQUIRING 
AND  TRANSMITTING  SPIRITUAL  GAINS 
DOWN  THE  PROCESSION  OF  THE  GEN- 
ERATIONS, IS  THE  SUPREME  FACT  IN 
ALL  HUMAN  HISTORY. 


It  took  perhaps  two  hundred  thousand 
years  of  the  struggle  towards  righteousness, 
the  struggle  towards  the  ideal,  to  transform 
the  ape-like  man  into  a  great  ethical  teacher 
like  Confucius,  who,  like  Buddha  and  Zoroas- 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  401 


ter  and  Jesus,  each  evidences  the  spiritualiz- 
ing power  of  God's  Plan  in  evolving  such 
personalities,  each  of  whom  may  have  been 
the  highest  evolved  man  of  his  day. 


But  Individuals  were  mentioned  merely 
that  the  Reading  of  the  Scale  should  be  plain. 

God's  Plan  is  for  the  entire  human  race. 

That  God's  Plan  has  been  purposefully 
slow,  as  viewed  by  human  understanding, 
should  not  dim  a  clear  vision  of  the  supreme 
spiritual  significance  of  the  record. 

This  record  marks  the  pathways  of  the 
past  and  foretells  the  spiritual  brightness  of 
coming  days. 


Undoubtedly  the  disciples  now  began  to  see 
that  the  "Process"  which  had  wrought  such  ad- 
vances in  spiritual  life  contained  promises  of 
great  moment  to  all  who  seek  the  further  spiritual 
progress  of  our  race,  but  the  constructive  value  of 
the  instruction  of  the  degree  thus  far  set  forth 
could  scarcely  be  measured  by  anyone  who  was  not 
already  familiar  with  the  great  conclusions  which 
were  to  follow. 

When  the  next  leaf  of  the  Building  Book  was 
turned,  the  readers  found  one  of  the  great  ques- 
tions which  appeared  on  the  Last  Door  again  con- 
fronting them  on  the  sixth  page  of  the  volume. 


402  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 


6. 
WHAT  DOES  IT  ALL  MEAN? 

In  simple  terms,  our  Society  will  endeavor 
to  tell  you  the  wonderful  meaning  which  hu- 
man reason  must  deduce  from  the  origin  and 
history  of  man. 

*  *      * 

We  originated  out  of  unintellectual,  un- 
spiritual  animalism,  and  we  were  endowed 
with  individual  personalities,  capable  of 
choosing  our  actions  and  capable  of  much 
mental  and  spiritual  growth. 

*  *      * 

In  the  primeval  ages  our  race  struggled 
along  intellectually  and  morally  under  the 
sway  of  ignorance,  superstition  and  fear. 

Our  far  progenitors  also  struggled  hard 
against  other  animals  and  against  nature's 
cataclysmal  physical  forces,  in  order  that 
they  should  not  all  perish. 

It  was  these  struggles,  which  brought 
precious  spiritual  gains  to  be  transmitted 
down  the  generations. 

SERVICE,  LOVE,  CO-OPERATION 
AND  WORSHIP  ALL  GREW  SLOWLY 
INTO  THE  WEB  OF  HUMAN  HISTORY. 

*  *      * 

It  was  all  very  slow  as  we  measure  time 
and  only  the  Infinite  One  knows  why. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  403 


BUT  IT  WAS  GOD'S  PLAN,  and  the 
Power  of  the  moral  forces  which  have  thus 
uplifted  mankind  spiritually  may  be  meas- 
ured by  contrasting  the  most  ignorant  savage 
of  darkest  Africa  (undoubtedly  some  ad- 
vanced beyond  the  original  men  of  earth) 
with  the  highest  spiritual  and  intellectual  hu- 
man beings  of  our  day. 

*  *      * 

UNDER  GOD'S  PLAN  THE  WAY  OF 
MANKIND  HAS  BEEN  AN  UPWARD 
WAY. 

Every  religion  of  the  past  which  in  any 
way  advanced  mankind,  every  development 
of  spiritual  actions  and  spiritual  ideas  and 
ideals  and  spiritual  character  has  been  be- 
cause of  the  persistent  spiritual  forces  which 
evidence  that  GOD  DECREED  THAT  MAN 
SHOULD  GROW  UPWARD  FROM  ANI- 
MALISM AND  IGNORANCE  TO  FAR 
HEIGHTS  WHICH  WE  OF  THIS  AGE 
ARE  NOT  EVOLVED  SPIRITUALLY  FAR 
ENOUGH  TO  DISCERN. 

*  *      * 

THROUGH  THE  POWER  OF  THE  DI- 
VINE FORCES  WHICH  HAVE  UPLIFTED 
MANKIND  AND  WHICH  WE  CAN  USE 
FOR  OUR  OWN  SPIRITUAL  PROGRESS 
TOWARDS  HIGHER  PERSONAL  CHAR- 
ACTER, IT  HAS  BEEN  CLEARLY  ESTAB- 


404  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


LISHED  NOT  ONLY  THAT  "GOD  IS  THE 
POWER  WHICH  MAKES  FOR  RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS," BUT  ALSO  THAT  UNDER 
HIS  PLAN  OUR  RACE  CANNOT  PERMA- 
NENTLY RECEDE  BACK  TO  IGNOR- 
ANCE AND  ANIMALISM,  AND,  BETTER 
YET,  CANNOT  DEGRADE  ITSELF  INTO 
UNIVERSAL  VICE  AND  MORAL  BASE- 
NESS. 

1*  *t*  "1* 

REMEMBER,  WE  DO  HAVE  MORAL 
FREEDOM. 

HOWEVER  PERSUASIVE  THE  LAWS 
WHICH  INFLUENCE  OUR  CHOICE  OF 
ACTIONS,  YET  OUR  PERSONALITIES  DO 
BUILD  UP  CHARACTER,  WHICH  IS  THE 
ONLY  THING  WHICH  WE  CAN  TAKE 
THROUGH  THE  PORTALS  OF  DEATH. 

BUT  OUR  RACE  IS  PREDESTINED 
ULTIMATELY  TO  GROW  GREATLY 
IN  SPIRITUAL  COMPREHENSION  AND 
SPIRITUAL  POWER. 


HERE,  THEN,  ARE  SPIRITUAL  IN- 
SPIRATION, HIGH  FAITH  AND  GREAT 

HOPE. 

*      *      * 

THEREFORE,  THE  GREAT  MEANING 
OF  MAN'S  ORIGIN,  HISTORY  AND  FU- 
TURE DESTINY  AS  ONE  RACE  IN- 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  405 


HABITING  OUR  EARTH,  IS  THAT  HE 
ALWAYS  HAS  BEEN,  IS  NOW,  AND 
ALWAYS  WILL  BE  CLIMBING  AN  UP- 
WARD WAY  TOWARDS  GOD. 

AND  WHEN  THIS  IS  COMPRE- 
HENDED THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  FU- 
TURE IS  CLEARLY  DISCERNIBLE. 


The  more  or  less  frequent  repetition  of  certain 
fundamental  facts  and  conclusions  and  even  of 
sentences  had  been  deemed  advisable  in  order  that 
the  foundation  of  the  Religion  of  Progress  should 
be  viewed  from  many  angles  during  all  the  work 
of  the  Degrees  and  should  be  impressed  firmly  on 
every  soul. 

Now  the  disciple  approached  the  building  of 
the  superstructure  of  the  Religion  of  the  Future. 

After  reading  the  sixth  page  seven  times, 
Marie  Templeton  had  said: 

"The  truth  certainly  cuts  away  the  founda- 
tions of  Christian  Orthodoxy;  what  will  it  leave  of 
the  teachings  of  liberal  Christianity  and  its  con- 
cept of  God?" 

And  Robert  Young  had  answered: 

"The  very  nature  of  spiritual  progress  under 
the  Divine  Plan  requires  that  we  shall  not  attempt 
to  measure  all  of  the  future  discoveries  in  the 
realm  of  spiritual  truth,  but  now  it  seems  clear 
that  the  spiritual  kinship  we  have  with  God  is 
something  to  be  valued  supremely. 


406  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"The  word  'Fatherhood,'  as  is  said  in  the 
Sixth  Degree,  seems  too  circumscribed  with  in- 
ferior earthly  relationships. 

"Perhaps  we  may  find  a  word  to  partially 
name  the  wonderful  spiritual  relationship  which 
our  souls  bear  to  the  'Source  of  Righteousness,' 
but  we  have  doubted  the  spiritual  honesty  of 
clinging  to  the  idea  of  Fatherhood,  even  as  liber- 
alized by  modern  thought. ' ' 

On  the  opposite  page  the  number  Seven 
appeared,  and  now,  lest  one  shall  say  that  the 
founders  of  the  Society  of  Progress  deemed  that 
number  of  mystic  value  or  were  in  any  way  super- 
stitious regarding  it,  it  will  be  well  to  record  that 
the  Beloved  Philosopher  had  recommended  its  use 
purely  as  a  convenience  suggested  by  the  Seven 
who  sought  his  advice  and  by  the  division  of  the 
degrees.  He  also  knew  as  a  psychological  fact 
that,  in  dealing  with  Mormons,  some  occult  gain 
might  be  made  because  of  the  recurrence  of  that 
number  in  their  church  organization. 

In  the  instruction  express  repudiation  was 
made  of  any  superstitious,  occult,  or  mystic  value 
to  be  given  to  the  number. 

The  Religion  of  Progress  admits  of  no  super- 
stition of  any  kind. 

When  Marie  Templeton  looked  upon  the 
seventh  page  she  saw  this: 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  407 


7. 

THE     STRUGGLE     TOWARDS     RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS. 

Do  not  think  because  the  Plan  of  the  In- 
finite One  shines  out  in  spiritual  radiance  in 
the  history  of  our  race  that  the  souls  of  today 
can  usurp  the  functions  of  the  Almighty,  and 
divine  clear  reasons  for  many  things  in  the 
progress  of  humanity  along  the  Upward  Way, 
which  are  shrouded  behind  the  barriers  be- 
tween the  finite  and  the  infinite? 


Why  should  our  race  have  groped  so  long 
amid  the  dark  clouds  of  animalism,  ignorance, 
superstition  and  fear? 

Why  should  humanity  have  battled  in 
bloody  warfare,  first  one  with  another,  then 
family  with  family,  then  tribe  with  tribe,  then 
nation  with  nation,  through  a  thousand  cen- 
turies? 

Why  should  the  evils  of  social  life  have 
grown  into  the  spiritual  history  of  our  race? 

Why  was  the  realm  of  truth  respecting  the 
physical  universe  so  slowly  spelled  out? 

Why  has  religion  groped  through  the 
maze  of  a  thousand  false  religions  ere  one  has 
been  found  which  comprehends  all  Truth? 


408  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


Shall  we,  who  are  only  partially  evolved 
intellectually  and  spiritually,  attempt  final 
answers  to  such  questions? 


We  do  know  that  GOD  DOES  NOT  AND 
HAS  NOT  BY  DIRECT  ACTS  OR  SPECIAL 
DECREES  IN  ANY  WAY  OR  FOR  ANY 
PURPOSE,  AT  ANY  TIME,  INTERFERED 
WITH  THE  CONDUCT  OF  ANY  MAN  OR 
THE  HISTORY  OF  ANY  PEOPLE. 


IF  GOD  DID  THUS  CONTROL  HUMAN 
DESTINY  BY  DIRECT  ACT  OR  SPECIAL 
DECREE,  EVEN  BECAUSE  OF  PRAYER 
TO  HIM,  WE  WOULD  BE  JUSTIFIED  IN 
QUESTIONING  MANY  THINGS,  IN  THE 
STRUGGLE  TOWARDS  RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS. 

*      *      * 

BUT  GOD  BROUGHT  HUMAN  PER- 
SONALITY  UNDER  THE  SWAY  OF  THE 
SPIRITUALIZING  PROCESS,  WHILE  IT 
WAS  EMERGING  FROM  ANIMALISM 
AND  ALL  WHICH  FOLLOWED  MERELY 
EVIDENCED  THE  STRUGGLE  TOWARDS 
RIGHTEOUSNESS  OF  A  RACE  WHICH 
WAS  PREDESTINED  TO  CLIMB  THE  UP- 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  409 


WARD  WAY  TOWARD  THE  IDEAL,  BUT 
WAS  ALSO  MADE  TO  WIN  ITS  OWN 
SPIRITUAL  UPLIFT. 


Quickly,  lest  one  shall  say  we  have  taught 
a  divinely  fixed,  predetermined  fate  for  indi- 
vidual man  and  for  nations,  we  emphasize 
that  the  PROCESS  OF  SPIRITUALIZA- 
TION  expressly  negatives,  wholly  denies,  any 
such  conclusion. 


HUMAN  FATE,  INDIVIDUAL  AND 
COLLECTIVE,  HAS  ALWAYS  BEEN 
FLUENT  UNDER  THE  DIVINE  ENDOW- 
MENT OF  MORAL  FREEDOM,  THE 
POWER  OF  INTELLIGENT  CHOICE  OF 
ACTIONS. 

THE  ULTIMATELY  TRIUMPHANT 
SPIRITUAL  FORCES  IMPEL,  BUT 
NEVER  DETERMINE,  INDIVIDUAL  OR 
COMMUNAL  DESTINY. 


AS  INDIVIDUALS  AND  AS  COMMUNI- 
TIES OUR  PROGRESS  TOWARDS  GOD 
ALONG  THE  UPWARD  WAY  IS  MEAS- 
URED BY  OUR  OWN  SPIRITUAL  DE- 
VELOPMENT AND  ACTIVITIES. 


410  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

When  Mollie  Richards  had  read  the  seventh 
page  of  the  Building  Book  seven  times,  she  said  to 
Naomi  Snowson: 

"  Looking  backward  to  our  remote  ancestors,  I 
feel  that  they  were  not  permanently  unhappy.  It 
seems  to  me  that  until  man  himself  began  to  use 
his  intelligence  against  his  fellow  men  to  oppress 
and  enslave,  that  even  the  physical  struggles  in 
warfare  would  develop  intelligence  and  in  some 
ways  sow  the  seed  for  moral  development. ' ' 

Zora  Wells,  always  alert-minded,  said,  after 
her  perusal: 

''There,  some  more  broad  questions  have  ap- 
peared. But  I  believe  in  having  rational  faith, 
and  when  we  know  that  all  the  time  God  was  im- 
pelling our  ancestors  to  grow  gradually  towards 
higher  spirituality,  why  should  we,  who  spirit- 
ually and  temporarily  profit  by  their  struggles, 
have  too  much  curiosity  about  just  how  it  all  hap- 
pened or  why  it  didn't  happy  some  other  way? 

"God's  way  must  be  the  best  way." 

Marie  Templeton  said,  before  the  leaf  of  the 
book  was  swung  to  disclose  the  next  pages: 

"I  think  the  real  lesson  of  the  prolonged  strug- 
gle towards  righteousness,  is  that  we  who  have 
inherited  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  gains  of 
the  ages  should  strongly  cooperate  to  give  oppor- 
tunity to  those  who  are  not  so  far  evolved. 

"What  does  it  avail  us  if  we  do  not  organize 
so  that  all  of  us  who  see  the  Truth  can  give  every 
possible  effort  to  advance  our  fellow  men  through 
instruction  in  the  truth?" 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  411 

Thus,  again,  the  world-teaching  of  the  Religion 
of  Progress  appeared  in  the  expressions  of  the 
disciples. 

When  the  great  leaf  of  the  white  book  swung 
noiselessly  over,  the  message  on  the  eighth  page 
appeared: 


8. 

MAN  HAS  MADE  THE  EVILS  OF  HIS 
RACIAL  LIFE. 

Evil,  in  the  working  out  of  a  plan  which 
makes  for  righteousness,  may  seem  a  mys- 
tery. 

But  let  us  look  at  both  sides  of  the 
shield  before  we  pronounce  judgment. 

Are  the  evils  of  our  racial  life  things 
which  God  condemned  in  tablets  of  stone,  or 
are  they  things  which  the  spiritual  growth  of 

mankind  condemns? 

*      *       * 

IT  SEEMS  DEMONSTRABLY  TRUE 
THAT  EVIL  AMONGST  MEN  NECESSAR- 
ILY ARISES  FROM  MAN'S  POWER 
EITHER  TO  CHOOSE  RIGHT  CONDUCT, 
WHICH  WILL  ASSIST  IN  CARRYING 
OUT  THE  WILL  OF  GOD,  REVEALED  IN 
THE  PROCESS  WHICH  MAKES  FOR 
RIGHTEOUSNESS,  OR  TO  CHOOSE  BAD 
CONDUCT,  WHICH  MAKES  AGAINST 
RACE  ADVANCEMENT  AND  TENDS  TO- 


412  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


WARDS  PERSONAL  SPIRITUAL  DEGRA- 
DATION. 

*  *       * 

NEITHER  DEVIL  NOR  FALLEN 
ANGEL,  NOR  POWER  OF  DARKNESS, 
MAKES  THE  EVIL  WHICH  TEMPTS 
MAN  TOWARDS  DEGRADATION. 

SCIENCE  LONG  AGO  BANISHED  SA- 
TAN FROM  THE  REALITIES. 

*  *       * 

THE  BLACK  CURRENT  OF  EVIL 
WHICH  FLOWS  ON  IN  THE  STREAM  OF 
RACIAL  DESTINY  IS  CREATED 
WHOLLY  BY  THE  CONDUCT  OF  MAN 
HIMSELF. 

H*  H*  *»* 

IT  IS  MAN'S  OWN  UNCONTROLLED 
DESIRES  AND  PASSIONS  WHICH  MAKE 

UP  THE  SUM  OF  EVIL  TEMPTATIONS. 

*  *       * 

In  building  up  the  Religion  of  Progress  it 
is  very  necessary  that  the  general  nature  of 
evil  be  clearly  understood. 

THE  ENEMIES  OF  RACE  UPLIFT 
ARE  THOSE  THINGS  AMONGST  MEN 
WHICH  TEND  TO  DEGRADE  MANKIND 
OR  TO  IMPEDE  SPIRITUAL  PROGRESS. 
LET  US  LOOK  FARTHER. 

"Animalism  as  a  necessity  of  the  survival 
of  the  human  race  could  not  of  itself  be  evil, 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  413 


but  modified  by  the  intelligence  and  the  pas- 
sions of  men  it  easily  becomes  a  power 

against  righteousness." 

*  *       * 

The  social  evil  is  a  dreadful  dragging 
weight  on  the  progress  of  humanity  and  the 
Religion  of  Progress  recognizes  in  it  a  su- 
preme enemy,  to  be  eventually  conquered  by 
the  education  to  clear  pure  vision  of  its  evils 
of  all  the  young  men  of  our  world  who  hon- 
estly desire  race  advancement,  and  who  will 
guard  in  purity  the  ignorance  of  little  sisters 
of  our  race  who  might  be  betrayed.  There 
are  many  battles  of  many  kinds  to  be  waged 
ere  the  race  soul  is  purged  of  this  great  evil 

*  *       * 

The  Religion  of  Progress  also  recognizes 
that  in  individual  personality,  vices  of  un- 
truthfulness,  hypocrisy,  irrational  anger, 
avarice,  dishonesty,  inordinate  pride,  glut- 
tony, selfishness,  drunkenness  and  kindred 
degrading  wickedness  of  men,  each  and  all 
impede  individual  and  race  advancement  to- 
wards God,  and  each  and  all  arise  because 
man  misuses  the  greatest  gift  of  the  Infinite 
One,  his  moral  freedom. 

*  *       * 

So,  too,  amongst  the  institutions  of  men, 
beyond  question  there  are  those  which  im- 
pede individual  and  communal  advancement 
toward  higher  spirituality. 


414  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


These,  too,  are  great  evils  and  they  must 
be  and  will  be  conquered  in  the  struggle  for 

righteousness 

*  *      * 

IS  IT  NOT  PERFECTLY  CLEAR  THAT 
NOT  GOD,  BUT  MAN,  MAKES  THE  EVIL 

OF  HIS  RACE? 

*  *       * 

The  Religion  of  Progress  says  to  you, 
"Let  us  recognize  the  existence  of  evil  solely 
as  a  matter  of  man's  own  volition,  and  then 
let  us  wage  against  it  a  clear- visioned,  never- 
ending  warfare,  so  that  its  soul-degrading  po- 
tentialities shall  not  forever  destroy  spiritual 
growth  of  individual  personalities,  nor  im- 
pede the  spiritual  progress  of  our  race." 

THE  BATTLE  IS  WELL  WORTH 
WAGING.  .  *  * 

BUT  LET  IT  NOT  BE  SAID  THAT 
EARTHLY  EVIL  IS  A  MORAL  WRONG 
AGAINST  MANKIND  ONLY. 

IT  IS  ALSO  MOST  CLEARLY  SIN 
AGAINST  THE  INFINITE  ONE  BECAUSE 
IT  IS  AN  EXERCISE  OF  THE  MORAL 
FREEDOM  GRANTED  TO  MAN  AGAINST 
THE  VERY  PURPOSE  FOR  WHICH  GOD 
GRANTED  SUCH  FREEDOM. 

MAN'S  EVIL  CONDUCT  IMPEDES 
THE  FULFILLMENT  OF  GOD'S  DIVINE 
PLAN  FOR  MANKIND. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  415 

Many  deep  breaths  were  drawn  when  disciples 
finished  the  reading  of  the  eighth  page  of  the 
Building  Book.  The  concrete  teachings  brought 
the  individual  directly  to  the  constructive  relig- 
ious work  of  the  Eeligion  of  Progress. 

As  Mildred  Thatcher  said: 

"It  is  plain  that  the  Religion  of  Progress  sub- 
stitutes 'Thou  Ought  Not'  for  'Thou  Shalt  Not.' 
It  certainly  places  a  spiritual  duty  upon  each  soul. 
By  our  conduct  towards  our  fellow  men,  and  our 
communications  with  them,  we  help  or  we  hinder 
the  spiritual  advancement  of  our  race.  It  is  cer- 
tainly a  pretty  solemn  responsibility." 

And  Josephine  Penrose  remarked: 

"It  is  inspiring  to  realize  that  our  spiritual 
warfare  is  against  man's  own  conduct  and  his  own 
institutions  of  degradation. 

"But  there  must  be  something  greater  yet  to 
come.  Evil  is  an  enemy  in  the  pathway,  but  the 
spiritual  gains  we  can  make  both  individually  and 
for  humanity  in  struggling  against  evil  must  not 
compare  to  the  spiritual  development  of  our  own 
personalities  in  advancing  along  the  Upward 
Way." 

Her  conclusions  proved  to  be  an  anticipation 
of  the  message  on  the  next  page  of  the  Building 
Book. 


416  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 


9. 

WHAT  IS  THE  BEST  WE  CAN  DO  WHILE 
WE  ARE  HERE? 

*  *      * 

Involved  in  this  question  are  all  the  vital 
problems  of  human  life. 

All  our  relations  towards  our  fellow  men, 
all  the  social  institutions  of  humanity,  all  our 
obligations  to  God  and  our  worship  of  God, 
must  be  considered  in  seeking  a  truthful 
answer. 

Can  we  climb  to  some  high  pinnacle  of 
spiritual  enlightenment  and  there  obtain  the 
complete  view  which  we  needs  must  obtain 
if  we  shall  true  answer  gain  to  this  supremely 
important  inquiry? 

*  *      # 

IN  GOD'S  PLAN— IN  THE  DIVINE 
PLAN— THE  TRUE  ANSWER  MUST  BE 

REVEALED. 

*  *      * 

The  society  of  Progress  sought  the  an- 
swer in  the  Divine  Plan  because  the  Religion 
of  the  Future  must  have  its  birth  in  God's 
purposes  toward  the  human  race. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  417 


From  the  demonstrations  of  God's  Plan 
already  taught  certain  spiritual  answers  to 
our  question  shine  forth  in  radiant  inspira- 
tion. 

FIRST:  THE  BEST  HERITAGE  WHICH 
HUMAN  PERSONALITY  HAS  GAINED 
IN  THE  STRUGGLE  TOWARDS  RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS  IS  THE  POWER  NOW  TO 
WORSHIP  THE  INFINITE  ONE  IN  OUT- 
POURINGS OF  SPIRITUAL  LOVE  AND 
ADORATION  WHICH  ARE  FAR  ABOVE 
THE  TEACHINGS  OF  ANY  OTHER  RELI- 
GION EITHER  PAST  OR  PRESENT. 

AND  THE  LAW  OF  THE  UPWARD 
WAY  CLEARLY  REVEALS  THAT,  AS 
OUR  RACE  GOES  ON,  EVER  CLIMBING 
TO  GREATER  HEIGHTS  OF  SPIRITUAL 
LIFE  AND  SPIRITUAL  VISION,  MAN- 
KIND SHALL  CONTINUALLY  LEARN 
HOW  TO  WORSHIP  GOD  IN  PURER 
SPIRITUAL  LOVE  AND  MORE  SU- 
PREME SOUL  ADORATION. 

WE  HAVE  SCARCELY  GLIMPSED 
THE  REALM  OF  SPIRITUAL  LAWS 
WHICH  WE  CAN  USE  FOR  SOUL  AD- 
VANCEMENT. 


418  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

WHEN  WE  DO  GAIN  KNOWLEDGE 
OF  THEIR  NATURE  AND  THEIR 
POWER,  LOVE,  WORSHIP  AND  ADORA- 
TION OF  THE  INFINITE  ONE  WILL 
SURELY  GROW  TO  HIGHER  GLORY. 

*  *      # 

Worship  of  God  has  been  a  growth 
amongst  men  and  it  would  be  spiritual  decay 
to  blind  our  eyes  to  the  promises  of  the  fu- 
ture. 

*  *      * 

SECOND:  IF  WE  TRULY  LOVE  AND 
WORSHIP  GOD,  THEN  WE  MUST  CON- 
SCIOUSLY ASSIST  IN  CARRYING  OUT 
THE  DIVINE  PLAN  THAT  THE  RACE 
SHALL  BE  ADVANCED  TO  HIGHER 
SPIRITUALITY. 

THE  PATHWAY  IS  PLAIN,  THOUGH 
THE  TASK  WILL  REQUIRE  THE 
STRONGEST  SPIRITUAL  EFFORTS  OF 
EVERY  PERSONALITY  WHICH  DE- 
SIRES TO  GROW  TOWARDS  GOD. 

STRONG  SPIRITUAL  LOVE  FOR  ALL 
OF  OUR  RACE- 
STRONG  SPIRITUAL  CO-OPERATION 
WITH  ALL  HUMANITY— 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  419 


THESE,  COMBINED  WITH  THE 
HIGHEST  SPIRITUAL  LOVE  OF  GOD, 
ARE  SUMMATIONS  OF  THE  BEST  INDI- 
VIDUALS AND  COMMUNITIES  OF  MEN 
CAN  DO  WHILE  EXISTING  ON  EARTH. 
*  *  * 

YIELDING  SPIRITUAL  ALLEGIANCE 
TO  GOD'S  PLAN  AND  CONSCIOUSLY 
WORKING  TO  CARRY  IT  OUT  SO  FAR 
AS  WE  CAN  IN  OUR  GENERATION, 
WILL  SO  DEVELOP  OUR  PERSONALI- 
TIES THAT  WE  CAN  LOOK  FORWARD 
WITH  RATIONAL  FAITH  TO  STILL 
GREATER  PROGRESS  IN  A  SPIRITUAL 
LIFE  BEYOND  THE  PORTALS  OF  PHYS- 
ICAL DEATH.  BUT  OF  THIS,  MORE 
ANON. 


As  part  of  the  story  of  the  thousands  of  dis- 
ciples who  were  taught  the  seven  degrees  it  was 
often  remarked  that  the  ninth  page  of  the  Build- 
ing Book  was  studied  with  absorbing  attention 
by  all. 

Many  were  the  comments  made  upon  its  broad 
statements,  and  some  were  disappointed  at  cer- 
tain apparent  restrictions  or  omissions  of  what 
they  deemed  vital  necessities  of  the  Religion  of 
Progress. 


420  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

Talmadge  Penrose  had  been  a  philosophic  So- 
cialist, and  the  Brotherhood  of  Man,  on  its  ma- 
terial side,  had  occupied  many  of  his  hours  of 
study  and  meditation. 

After  reading  the  ninth  page  of  the  white  book 
he  said  to  Robert  Young: 

' '  Can  it  be  that  the  Religion  of  Progress  does 
not  seek  any  reorganization  of  Society  along 
economic  lines  so  that  the  present  crude,  wasteful, 
unequal  distribution  of  the  products  of  the  soil 
and  of  manufacture,  and  of  the  benefits  of  human 
economic  efforts,  shall  be  superseded  by  institu- 
tional methods  which  shall  establish  true  eco- 
nomic brotherhood  amongst  men?" 

And  to  him  Robert  Young  replied: 

"The  Religion  of  Progress  must  necessarily 
affect  every  relationship  of  human  society  and 
your  question  receives  immediate  answer  on  the 
next  page  of  the  book." 

It  was  said  among  the  seven  that  of  the  wo- 
men who  read  the  ninth  page,  the  first  comment 
usually  made  was  upon  the  last  paragraph,  where- 
in immortality  appeared  as  a  direct  teaching  of 
the  Society. 

Again  a  leaf  of  the  Building  Book  swung  over 
and  eager  souls  searched  the  next  page. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  421 


10. 

SPIRITUAL  LOVE  FOR  ALL  OF  OUR 
RACE. 

SPIRITUAL  CO-OPERATION  WITH  ALL 
HUMANITY. 


What  is  involved  in  giving  to  our  fellow 
human  beings  these  fundamental  necessities 
of  spiritual  progress  under  God's  Plan? 

THE  PROCESS  OF  GOD  PERMEATES 
EVERY  FIELD  OF  HUMAN  ENDEAVOR. 

THEREFORE,  THE  RELIGION  WHICH 
SEEKS  TO  GIVE  THE  BEST  DISCERN- 
IBLE FINITE  CO-OPERATION  TO  THE 
DIVINE  PURPOSE  THAT  MANKIND 
SHALL  CLIMB  THE  UPWARD  WAY  TO- 
WARD GOD,  MUST  EXTEND  ITS  SPIRIT- 
UAL CO-OPERATION  INTO  EVERY 
FIELD  OF  HUMAN  ENDEAVOR. 
#  #  * 

This  cannot  be  comprehended  too  broadly. 

It  is  as  broad  as  the  conduct  of  every  hu- 
man being  and  every  institutional  activity  of 
all  mankind. 

WE  ARE  ONE  RACE  WITHIN  GOD'S 
PURPOSES,  AND  WE  ARE  WORKING 
TOWARDS  A  COMMON  RACIAL  DES- 
TINY. 


422  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


However,  we  must  not  expect  very  sudden 
and  radical  changes  in  transforming  existing 
human  institutions  into  better  institutions, 
nor  in  transforming  the  majority  of  our  fel- 
low human  beings  into  spiritual  fitness  to 
give  true  spiritual  love  to  all  their  fellow 
men.  *  *  * 

Before  the  honest  spiritual  dreams  of 
those  who  seek  world-wide  adoption  of  eco- 
nomic plans  which  will  recognize  the 
Brotherhood  of  Man  can  gain  any  strong 
practical  assertion,  there  must  be  THE 
SOUNDEST  AND  SANEST  RELIGIOUS 
FOUNDATION  BUILT  UP  IN  THE  SOULS 
OF  A  CONSIDERABLE  MAJORITY  OF 
MANKIND. 

WHEN  THE  MAJORITY  OF  MEN,  BE- 
CAUSE THEY  LOVE  GOD  AND  WISH  TO 
CARRY  OUT  HIS  PLAN,  SHALL  HAVE 
GAINED  SPIRITUAL  PERSONALITIES 
OF  GREATLY  HIGHER  CHARACTER 
THAN  NOW  EXIST,  SAVE  AMONG  A 
FEW  OF  THE  FARTHEST  EVOLVED, 
THEN,  AND  THEN  ONLY,  CAN  SUCCESS- 
FUL ECONOMIC  BROTHERHOOD  BE  ES- 
TABLISHED. 

PERHAPS  A  HUNDRED  CENTURIES 
MAY  MARK  THE  UPWARD  CLIMB  TO 
SUCH  A  TRIUMPH  OF  SPIRITUAL  CO- 
OPERATION. 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  423 


THE  CRUDE  SELFISH  REBELLIONS 
AGAINST  THE  EXISTING  ECONOMIC 
AND  GOVERNMENTAL  ORDER  WHICH 
MARK  THE  TEACHINGS  OF  ANARCH- 
ICAL SOCIETIES  THROUGHOUT  THE 
WORLD  LACK  THE  ABSOLUTELY  ES- 
SENTIAL ELEMENTS  OF  HUMAN  AD- 
VANCEMENT. 

SPIRITUAL  CO-OPERATION  WITH 
OUR  FELLOW  MEN  AND  THEIRS  WITH 
US,  AND  MUTUAL  SPIRITUAL  LOVE, 
WITH  A  COMMON  BELIEF  IN  GOD,  AND 
COMMON  DEVOTION  TO  THE  CAUSE  OF 
SPIRITUALLY  UPLIFTING  EACH 
OTHER,  AND  ALL  OF  OUR  RACE, 
THESE  MAKE  THE  RELIGIOUS  FOUN- 
DATION UPON  WHICH  TO  BUILD  ECO- 
NOMIC BROTHERHOOD  OF  ALL  MAN- 
KIND. 

*      *      * 

WE  HEAR  YOU  SAY,  "IS  EFFORT  TO 
CHANGE  ANY  EXISTING  ECONOMIC  IN- 
JUSTICE OR  INEQUALITY,  OR  GOVERN- 
MENTAL OPPRESSION  TO  BE  POST- 
PONED TO  SOME  FAR  DAY?" 

EVERY  MAN  WHO  HAS  NOT 
EVOLVED  BEYOND  AVARICE  OR  DOMI- 
NATING SELFISHNESS,  IN  HIS  SOUL, 
HOPES  THE  ANSWER  WILL  BE,  "YES." 

EVERY  HUMAN  BEING  WHO  IS 
SPIRITUALLY  EVOLVED  TO  THE 


424  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

POINT  WHERE  HE  SPIRITUALLY 
LOVES  HIS  FELLOW  MEN  AND  DE- 
SIRES THEIR  ADVANCEMENT,  BOTH 
SPIRITUAL  AND  TEMPORAL,  HOPES 
THE  ANSWER  WILL  BE,  "NO." 

HOW  DO  YOU  MEASURE  UP  IN 
GOD'S  SCALE,  OH,  HUMAN  BROTHER? 
WHAT  IS  YOUR  ANSWER? 


THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS  HAS 
ONE  PLAIN  ANSWER  to  make  to  all  such 
questions. 

ITS  SOCIETIES  AND  ITS  INSTRUC- 
TORS AND  ITS  MEMBERS  WILL  STAND 
FEARLESSLY  AMIDST  THE  COMMUNI- 
TIES OF  MEN  APPLYING  TO  EVERY  IN- 
STITUTION OF  EARTH,  WHETHER  IT 
BE  GOVERNMENTAL,  EDUCATIONAL, 
RELIGIOUS,  CHARITABLE,  SOCIOLOGI- 
CAL, ECONOMIC,  OR  WHATEVER  ITS 
NATURE,  THE  SUPREME  TEST:— AS 
ORGANIZED,  DOES  IT  FURTHER  GOD'S 
PLAN  FOR  HUMANITY— DOES  IT  FUR- 
THER THE  SPIRITUAL  UPLIFTING  OF 
MANKIND? 

IF  THE  VERDICT  BE  THAT  IT  DOES 
NOT,  THEN  THOSE  WHO  SEEK 
GROWTH  IN  RIGHTEOUSNESS 
AMONGST  MEN,  MUST  OF  NECESSITY 
TRY  TO  SOLVE  THE  QUESTION— HOW 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  425 


SHALL  IT  BE  CHANGED  SO  AS  TO  HELP 
OUR  RACE  IN  ITS  CLIMB  ALONG  THE 

UPWARD  WAY? 

*  *      * 

THE  FORCES  OP  OPPRESSION,  OF 
SPIRITUAL  DEGRADATION,  OF  AVAR- 
ICE, OF  PASSION  AND  LUST,  OF  HU- 
MAN SELFISHNESS  AND  OF  RELIGI- 
OUS FANATICISM,  WILL  ALL  BE  AR- 
RAYED AGAINST  US  IN  THE  STRUG- 
GLE FOR  HUMAN  PROGRESS  TOWARDS 
RIGHTEOUSNESS,  BUT  WE  WILL  CON- 
QUER IN  THE  END,  AND  OUR  BATTLE 
MUST  BE  WAGED  CONSTANTLY.  j 

*  #      * 

"Owing  to  its  universality,  the  new  re- 
ligion will  gradually  create  new  institutions 
for  race  advancement  in  well-considered  con- 
structive efforts. 

"That  many  experiments  may  prove  in- 
effective and  futile  must  not  deter. 

"Sociologically  humanity  has  tried  many 
institutional  experiments  and  yet  is  largely 
ineffective  for  race  advancement  in  many  of 
those  now  controlling  most  human  beings." 

*  *      * 

WE  MUST  GO  AHEAD  SANELY,  SEN- 
SIBLY AND  STRONGLY,  TAKING  HU- 
MAN SOCIETY  AS  IT  NOW  EXISTS,  AND, 
FIRST  LEARNING  HOW  IT  CAN  BE 


426  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


CHANGED  TO  FURTHER  GOD'S  PUR- 
POSE OF  UPLIFTING  MANKIND,  WE 
MUST  THEN,  FEARLESSLY,  IN  STRONG 
LOVE  FOR  OUR  FELLOW  MEN,  EDU- 
CATE THE  MAJORITY  TO  SEE  THAT 
"THE  BROTHERHOOD  AND  SISTER- 
HOOD" OF  HUMANITY  REQUIRES  CER- 
TAIN NEW  INSTITUTIONS  TO  RE- 
PLACE CERTAIN  OLD  ONES. 

"WE  MUST  CONVINCE  AND  THEN 
CONSTRUCT."  DESTRUCTION  MUST 
LEAD  TO  BETTER  CONSTRUCTION. 


After  reading  the  page  many  times  and 
pondering  over  each  statement,  Talmadge  Pen- 
rose  turned  to  Darwin  Snowson  and  said: 

"I  see  it  all  plainly  now.  How  could  we  ex- 
pect to  root  up  avarice  and  selfishness  and  destroy 
oppression  of  all  kinds  without  having  the  help 
of  the  forces  which  make  for  righteousness  ? 

"In  order  to  have  the  Supreme  Power  in  the 
universe  aiding  in  our  plans  for  the  establishment 
of  true  brotherhood  amongst  men,  we  must  bring 
our  efforts  within  the  realm  of  the  forces  which 
make  for  human  progress. 

"We  must  have  the  strongest  religious  found- 
ation, the  belief  in  God's  Plan,  or  we  cannot  hope 
for  success. 

"If  the  Religion  of  Progress  had  nothing  else 
to  teach  than  the  lessons  now  taught  I  would  deem 


THE  SEVENTH  DEGREE  427 

it  the  only  one  for  the  affiliation  of  those  who  are 
seeking  the  economic  Brotherhood  of  Man. ' ' 

And  Darwin  Snowson  said  in  answer: 

"We  are  particularly  desirous  that  eager 
souls,  dreaming  splendid  spiritual  dreams  far 
ahead  of  their  times,  shall  not  expect  too  rapid 
progress  in  the  great  work.  Sometimes  great 
progress  will  be  made;  then  again  there  will  seem 
to  be  retrogression. 

"There  are  waves  in  spiritual  evolution,  and 
between  the  crests  discouraging  reactions  may 
lie. 

"We  wish  to  have  it  clearly  recognized  that 
the  work  of  uplifting  certain  races  of  men  to  com- 
prehension of  God's  Plan  and  the  burning  out  in 
spiritual  flames  of  racial  prejudices  are  tasks  not 
easy  of  accomplishment. 

"We  recognize  that  organizations  for  the  up- 
lift of  humanity  already  exist,  but  mostly  on  false 
conceptions  of  God?s  Spiritualizing  Process.  But 
we  expect  much  from  our  converts  who  come  out 
of  such  organizations  into  ours.  Many  of  them 
are  spiritually  evolved  far  beyond  the  tenets  of 
the  religion  they  now  profess." 

The  disciples  of  the  Society  exhibited  deep 
interest  in  the  contents  of  the  tenth  page  of  the 
Building  Book.  The  broad  constructive  prin- 
ciples appealed  in  one  way  or  another  to  each 
reader. 

As  Marie  Templeton  said: 

'The  earthly  part  of  the  new  religion  appeals 
to  every  spiritual  longing. 

'There  will  be  religious  activities  always 
opening  up  for  our  best  endeavors. 


428  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"But  I  cannot  help  being  anxious  to  learn 
what  we  are  to  be  told  of  immortality  of  our  per- 
sonalities and  of  spiritual  life  after  death." 

Robert  Young  then  told  her  that  in  the  next 
day's  instruction  her  natural  anticipations  would 
be  gratified  and  that  he  was  sure  that  she  would 
find  spiritual  satisfaction  and  hope  in  the  message 
respecting  immortality. 

It  was  customary  to  devote  two  sessions  to  the 
first  ten  pages  of  the  great  white  book  and  then 
dismiss  the  disciples  until  the  morrow.  Each  dis- 
ciple was  furnished  with  a  printed  copy  of  the 
instruction  contained  on  these  pages,  so  that  study 
might  be  made  of  their  contents  before  the  read- 
ing of  the  book  was  resumed. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK. 

IN  his  new-found  happiness  Robert  Young 
wished  to  spend  every  moment  he  possibly 
could  with  Marie  Templeton,  and  Darwin 
Snowson  was  glad  to  have  him  do  so,  and  had 
been  much  gratified  with  their  engagement. 

Darwin  had  found  pleasure  in  talking  with 
Marie  about  Faith  Winthrop  and  other  mutual 
friends  in  Capitolton.  This  chum  of  Faith's  was 
careful  not  to  enlighten  Darwin  in  respect  to 
Faith's  preferences,  for  even  then  Marie  feared 
that  something  momentous  had  arisen  to  deny  his 
hopes. 

Robert  had  gone  with  Marie  to  her  first  day's 
lessons  in  the  chamber  of  the  Religion  of  Progress, 
and  the  second  day  he  again  joined  her  before  the 
huge  white  book,  out  of  the  pages  of  which  the 
new  religious  faith  was  being  taught. 

The  eleventh  page  had  been  concealed  by  the 
white  gold-bordered  satin  cover  which  was  used 
always  to  overspread  the  right  hand  page  of  the 
book  until  the  page  to  the  left  had  been  read  the 
seven  necessary  times. 

When  the  disciples  had  been  seated  again  on 
the  high  divans  this  cover  was  removed  and  they 
looked  upon  the  message  of  the  eleventh  page. 


429 


430  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


11. 
THE  REALM  OF  SPIRITUAL  LAWS. 

"Man  has  used  the  physical  laws  of  the 
universe  in  a  myriad  of  ways  for  his  physical 
safety,  convenience  and  comfort. 

"The  laws  relating  to  the  selection  and 
best  propagation  of  plants  and  trees  through 
man's  intelligent  choice  have  given  us  our 
grains,  our  flowers  and  our  fruits. 

"By  man's  intelligent  choice  the  laws  re- 
lating to  mechanics  have  given  us  the  myriad 
of  mechanically  operated  industries  and  utili- 
ties which  pervade  civilization. 

"The  laws  relating  to  chemical  and  phys- 
ical changes  of  matter  have  been  availed  of 
through  man's  intelligence,  not  only  to  aid 
civilization  in  many  ways,  but  to  demonstrate 
the  kinship  of  the  innumerable  suns  of  the 
Cosmos. 

"THUS  DOES  HUMAN  PERSONAL- 
ITY USE  THE  PHYSICAL  LAWS  OF  THE 
UNIVERSE." 

*      #      # 

"BUT  THE  REALM  OF  SPIRITUAL 
LAWS  WHICH  COMBINE  TO  IMPEL  HU- 
MANITY TO  GROW  TO  HIGHER  SPIRIT- 
UALITY ARE  LITTLE  UNDERSTOOD, 
AND  MANY  BENEFICENT  LAWS  WHICH 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK      431 


WE  MAY  USE  IN  THE  STRUGGLE  FOR 
RIGHTEOUSNESS  PROBABLY  REMAIN 
FOR  DISCOVERY  HEREAFTER  AS 
THE  RACE  CLIMBS  THE  SUCCESSIVE 
HEIGHTS  OF  THE  UPWARD  WAY." 


"The  spiritual  laws  we  know  about  have 
had  their  principal  expression  in  scientific 
study  of  sociology. 

"Certain  laws  of  environment,  as  affect- 
ing the  intellectual  and  moral  status  of  the 
individual,  and  of  communities  of  men,  have 
received  scientific  expression." 

IT  WILL  BE  A  DUTY  OF  THE  SOCIE- 
TIES OF  THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS 
TO  STUDY  THESE  LAWS  SO  THAT 
THEY  MAY  BE  USED  TO  ASSIST  IN  OUR 
SPIRITUAL  CO-OPERATION  WITH  OUR 
FELLOW  HUMAN  BEINGS. 

TO  CREATE  BETTER  ENVIRON- 
MENTS, BOTH  COMMUNAL  AND  INDI- 
VIDUAL, FOR  GROWTH  IN  RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS, MUST  BE  A  CONSTANT  AND  IM- 
PERATIVE DUTY. 


THE  LAWS  OF  HEREDITY  (CALL 
THEM  FORCES  IF  YOU  PREFER)  HAVE 
HAD  TREMENDOUS  POTENCY  IN  AF- 
FECTING THE  SPIRITUAL  GROWTH  OF 


432  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


INDIVIDUALS    AND    THROUGH    THEM 
OF  MANKIND  GENERALLY. 

*  *      * 

WE  MUST  STUDY  INCESSANTLY 
HOW  TO  USE  THESE  LAWS  WISELY 
FOR  THE  SPIRITUAL  BETTERMENT  OF 
THE  COMING  GENERATIONS. 

*  *       * 

IN  THE  PSYCHICAL  KINGDOM— IN 
THE  REALM  OF  PERSONALITY- 
SCIENCE  CAN  GREATLY  AID  RELIGION 
AND  THERE  CAN  BE  NO  DOUBT  BUT 
THAT  IT  WILL  DO  SO  WHEN  SCIEN- 
TISTS GIVE  ALLEGIANCE  TO  THE  RE- 
LIGION OF  PROGRESS  AND  SEEK  THE 
SEPARATE  LAWS  WHICH  IN  THEIR 
COMBINED  POTENCY  CONSTITUTE 
THE  GREAT  LAW  OF  THE  UPWARD 

WAY. 

*  #      * 

Remember  that  humanity  has  been,  and 
that  we  will  be,  using  the  laws  of  moral 
growth  in  our  spiritual  activities  even  though 
we  cannot  now  define  them  or  gain  the 
greater  power  we  would  have  if  their  nature 
and  potency  had  been  fully  disclosed.  Like- 
wise man  used  some  of  the  physical  laws  for 
untold  centuries  before  Science  disclosed  the 
secrets  of  their  power. 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     433 


We  conceive  that  the  time  has  come  when 
man's  intelligence,  guided  by  high  spiritual 
purpose  and  desire,  will  search  out  every 
ethical  and  sociological  law  which  can  affect 
the  spiritual  growth  of  humanity,  and  when 
clear  vision  of  these  laws  is  attained  we  will 
consciously  use  them  to  constantly  modify 
for  the  better  all  conditions  surrounding 
mankind,  both  morally  and  socially. 


WE  ARE  AT  THE  BOUNDARY  OF  A 
WONDERFUL  REALM— THE  KINGDOM 
OF  GOD'S  SPIRITUAL  LAWS— AND  AS 
WE  MAKE  DISCOVERIES  THEREIN  WE 
WILL  BE  ABLE  TO  ADVANCE  OUR 
RACE  TOWARDS  THE  INFINITE  ONE. 


When  Mildred  Thatcher  had  finished  her  read- 
ings of  the  eleventh  page,  she  remarked: 

"From  my  study  of  psychology  I  can  well  ap- 
preciate that  undiscovered  spiritual  laws  of  great 
potency  may  yet  be  spelled  out.  The  undoubted 
spiritual  gains  made  by  Christian  Scientists  who 
have  truly  surrendered  their  personalities  to  the 
tranquilization  of  higher  beliefs  in  God  than  they 
held  before,  to  me  evidence  the  workings  of  some 
great  spiritual  law." 


434  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

And  Marie  Templeton  said  to  Robert  Young: 

"We  see  individuals  change  from  lives  of 
moral  indifference  and  even  moral  degradation  to 
clean,  honest,  spiritual  living. 

"I  have  often  thought  that  some  deep  spiritual 
law  gave  the  power  to  do  this,  and  if  we  under- 
stood the  law  it  would  give  us  much  aid  in  our 
spiritual  co-operation  with  those  whose  moral 
footsteps  tend  downward  and  whom  we  would 
help  to  build  better  characters. 

"I  think  the  so-called  conversions  to  Christ- 
ianity are  evidences  of  the  same  law." 

To  her  Kobert  replied: 

"Yes,  I  have  no  doubt  that  within  God's 
Spiritual  Process  the  power  to  use  its  laws  in  the 
way  you  mention  has  ever  existed.  Undoubtedly 
throughout  the  ages  he  who  has  truly  repented 
evil  conduct  and  truly  changed  his  ways,  has  had 
the  aid  of  divine  forces.  Sometime  the  law  will 
be  expressed  and  its  use  will  be  plain,  but  its 
potency  has  ever  been  part  of  the  religious  history 
of  mankind." 

In  the  Council  Chamber  were  preserved  many 
of  the  sayings  of  the  disciples  which  were  re- 
ported by  the  different  members  of  the  Seven,  and 
much  inspiration  in  the  work  of  the  degrees  was 
gained  therefrom. 

Another  saying  was  recorded  respecting  the 
eleventh  page,  and  Zora  Wells  was  accredited 
with  it. 

"I  think  that  one  of  the  undiscovered  laws 
must  be  the  one  which  makes  woman's  intuitions 
superior  to  the  logic  of  mere  man.  I've  heard 
married  men  agree  to  the  statement  quite  often, 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     435 

so  I  must  believe  that  it  is  founded  in  some  great 
moral  law. ' ' 

Waldemar  Grant  happened  to  be  listening,  and 
catching  the  quizzical  glances  which  accompanied 
the  remarks,  he  replied: 

"I'm  glad  that  we  can  make  joint  observations 
upon  the  phenomena  and  perhaps  discover  the 
law." 

Whereupon,  others  being  present,  Zora  looked 
both  embarrassed  and  pleased. 

The  swinging  of  the  next  great  leaf  brought 
further  instruction. 


12. 

TRUE  WORSHIP  OF  THE  INFINITE 
ONE. 

How  shall  free  souls  best  worship  God? 

Untrammeled  by  book  or  creed,  how  can 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  progress  best  give 
highest  spiritual  love  and  homage  to  the 
One  who  has  granted  the  spiritual  aspira- 
tions and  decreed  the  destiny  of  mankind? 

THE  ANSWER  MUST  HONESTLY 
CHIME  WITH  THE  ONWARD  AND  UP- 
WARD MARCH  OF  HUMANITY  TO- 
WARDS GOD. 

*      *      * 

DARE  WE  OF  TODAY  FIX  ANY  UN- 
CHANGEABLE FORMS  OF  WORSHIP? 
NO— NO— NO— THE    HIGHEST  WOR- 


436  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


SHIP  OF  TODAY  CANNOT,  OUGHT  NOT, 
TO  ATTEMPT  TO  DEFINE  THE  WOR- 
SHIP OF  THE  BETTER  TOMORROW. 
NOR  SHOULD  ANY  SOUL  BE  BOUND  BY 
THE  WORDS  OF  ANY  CREED. 

THE  INHERENT  POWER  OF  THE 
LAW  OF  THE  UPWARD  WAY  PROM- 
ISES THAT  EVER  BROADER,  HIGHER 
SPIRITUAL  KNOWLEDGE  SHALL  COME 
TO  MEN,  AND  THIS  WILL  SURELY 
LEAD  TO  BETTER  AND  HIGHER  WOR- 
SHIP OF  GOD. 

*  *      * 

BUT  FOR  US  OF  TODAY,  WORSHIP 
OF  THE  INFINITE  ONE  MUST  BE  THE 
MOST  PRECIOUS,  THE  DEEPEST,  THE 
STRONGEST,  THE  FREEST  AND  THE 
HIGHEST  SPIRITUAL  LOVE  OF  GOD, 
GIVEN  IN  HONESTY  AND  IN  TRUTH 
AND  EXEMPLIFIED  IN  OUR  DAILY 

LIVES. 

*  *      * 

Not  on  Sunday  alone  shall  we  worship 
God.  Not  at  night  alone  in  solemn  stillness 
amidst  the  glory  of  the  stars.  Not  alone 
when  the  tempest  roars  and  the  lightning 
pierces  the  sky  and  the  thunder  crashes. 
Not  alone,  when  the  morning  breaks  in 
beauty,  nor  in  the  brightness  of  noon;  nor 
when  the  evening  fades  in  resplendence;  not 
alone  in  health  nor  compelled  by  disease,  but 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK      437 


every  day  and  all  day  and  every  night,  and 
through  every  work  and  all  pleasure,  through 
every  fate  and  through  good  fortune  and 
misfortune,  if  our  souls  are  free  and  we  wish 
to  consciously  assist  in  God's  Great  Plan,  we 
must  submerge  our  personalities  in  highest 
love  and  worship  of  The  Infinite  One. 

*  *      # 

WE  MUST  REALIZE  THAT  THE 
GREATEST  PRIVILEGE  OF  HUMAN 
PERSONALITY  IS  TO  POUR  ITS  SPIRIT- 
UAL DEVOTION  AND  WORSHIP  OUT  TO 
THE  POWER  WHICH  MAKES  FOR 
RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

*  #      # 

ONE  WHO  SOUGHT  TO  BRING  HIS 
FELLOW  MEN  TO  GREATER  SPIRIT- 
UAL KNOWLEDGE  TRIED  TO  TELL 
THEM  HOW  TO  KEEP  "IN  TUNE  WITH 
THE  INFINITE." 

IN  A  BROAD  SENSE,  THE  ONLY  WAY 
TO  GAIN  SPIRITUAL  POWER  AND  TO 
GROW  IN  SPIRITUALITY  IS  TO  SO  LOVE 
AND  WORSHIP  THE  INFINITE  ONE 
THAT  OUR  DAILY  LIVES  SHALL  BE  IN 
TUNE  WITH  GOD'S  PURPOSES  FOR  THE 
UPLIFTING  OF  OUR  RACE. 

*  *      * 

TO  GAIN  THE  SUPREME  OBJECT  OF 
OUR  INDIVIDUAL  EXISTENCE,  AS  RE- 


438  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 


VEALED  IN  GOD'S  PLAN,  LET  US  KEEP 
GOD  WITHIN  OUR  SOULS  IN  ALL  OUR 
DAILY  ACTIVITIES  AND  EVER  STRIVE 
TO  ADVANCE  OUR  FELLOW  MEN 
ALONG  THE  UPWARD  WAY,  AND  THUS 
ADVANCE  OUR  OWN  PERSONALITIES 
TOWARDS  THE  INFINITE  ONE. 


After  studying  the  twelfth  page,  Mollie  Eich- 
ards  said: 

"I  had  feared  that  some  of  the  old  shackles  of 
worship  might  still  confine  souls  in  the  way  they 
should  love  God  and  give  adoration  to  Him,  but 
now  I  see  that  so  long  as  the  soul  is  honest  and 
seeks  the  truth  it  is  free  to  give  its  own  individual 
expression  to  its  worship. 

"We  cannot  know  all  the  truth  now,  and  we 
may  honestly  differ  as  to  our  interpretations  of 
what  we  do  know,  but  so  long  as  we  strive  to  fur- 
ther God's  Plan  for  Progress  I  think  it  is  well 
that  no  soul  is  to  be  circumscribed  by  any  creed 
of  worship." 

And  Darwin  Snowson  replied: 

"Yes,  Mollie,  the  Spiritual  Process — God's 
Own  Plan — causes  different  personalities  to  find 
differing  spiritual  expressions  of  their  love  and 
adoration  of  the  Maker  of  the  Plan,  and  only  in 
entire  freedom  can  progress  in  spirituality  be  best 
attained." 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK      439 

When  Mildred  Thatcher  heard  Darwin  express 
the  same  idea,  she  said  reflectively : 

"What  does  the  Eeligion  of  Progress  have  to 
say  about  the  Nature  of  God?" 

And  Darwin  replied: 

"You  have  anticipated  the  instruction  of  the 
next  page  of  the  book,  wherein  your  question  is 
answered. ' ' 

And  when  the  gleaming  cover  was  removed  it 
so  appeared: 


13. 

THE  INFINITE  ONE— GOD  OF  THE 
UNIVERSE. 

Shall  the  finite  in  a  realm  of  rationality 
which  is  true  within  its  own  boundaries,  but 
which  is  stopped  entirely  by  certain  designed 
limitations  of  human  thought,  attempt  to 
answer  the  question:  "What  is  the  Nature 
of  the  Infinite  One?" 


SURELY  THE  FINITE  CANNOT  AND 
MUST  NOT  ATTEMPT  TO  DEFINE  THE 

INFINITE. 

*       *       * 

BUT  SOME  THINGS  WE  MAY  SAY 
ABOUT  GOD  AND  ABOUT  HUMAN  CON- 
CEPTIONS OF  GOD. 


440  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 


Neither  in  the  discoveries  of  Science  nor 
within  the  realms  of  rationality  can  there  be 
found  any  justification  for  a  belief  that  God 
is  a  person  in  the  sense  that  physical  human 
beings  are  persons. 

The  Religion  of  Progress  asserts  that  the 
Divine  Plan  does  not  permit  any  man  to  say 
that  he  is  formed  in  the  image  of  God. 

"Man  as  a  creature,  is  the  product  of  an 
evolution  which  brought  his  organism  up 
through  a  process  which  leaves  some  of  the 
apes  as  his  lowlier  image." 

"Who  dares  to  assert  that  physical  man 
is  made  in  the  image  of  God?" 

*  *      * 

SHALL  WE  SAY  THAT  THE  SPIRIT 
OF  MAN— HUMAN  PERSONALITY— IM- 
AGES THE  INFINITE  ONE? 

Notwithstanding  its  inestimable  heritage 
from  God — the  power  of  spiritual  growth 
through  the  gift  of  moral  freedom — what 
soul,  human  and  finite,  can  ascribe  to  itself 
likeness  to  THE  INFINITE  ONE? 

NO,  WE  ARE  NOT  ENTITLED  TO 
SUCH  A  CLAIM. 

*  *      * 

BUT  THE  PROCESS  OF  GOD  MANI- 
FESTED IN  ALL  THINGS  PHYSICAL, 
PSYCHIC  AND  SPIRITUAL  APPARENT- 
LY GIVES  US  THE  RIGHT  TO  DRAW 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK      441 


CERTAIN  CONCLUSIONS  WHICH  IN- 
SPIRE STRONG  BELIEFS. 

FIRST:  WE  MUST  CONCLUDE  THAT 
AS  A  PSYCHIC  FORCE,  INFINITE  IN- 
TELLIGENCE, SUPREMELY  HIGHER 
THAN  FINITE  RATIONALITY,  IS  WORK- 
ING IN  THE  EVOLUTIONARY  PROCESS, 
AND  THEREFORE  THAT  "THE  INFIN- 
ITE AND  ETERNAL  ENERGY  FROM 
WHICH  ALL  THINGS  PROCEED"  WHILE 
WORKING  IN  THE  UNIVERSE  IN  "PRE- 
DESTINED COURSES  OF  EVOLUTION" 
IS  EVER  IMMANENT  IN  ALL  THE  UN- 
FOLDING OF  THE  EVOLUTIONARY 
PLAN. 

GOD,  THEREFORE,  IS  INFINITE  IN- 
TELLIGENCE, NOT  CIRCUMSCRIBED  BY 
FINITE  LIMITATIONS  AND  HIS  WILL  IS 
EVER  PRESENT  IN  THE  DIVINE  PLAN. 


SECOND:  IT  IS  CLEARLY  DEMON- 
STRABLE THAT  THE  INFINITE  INTEL- 
LIGENCE IS  WORKING  ALWAYS  IN  THE 
EVOLUTIONARY  PROCESS  TO  HELP 
MANKIND  TO  PROGRESS  ON  THE  UP- 
WARD WAY  TOWARDS  BETTER  RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS, AND,  THEREFORE,  GOD  IS 
INFINITE  "PURPOSIVE  GOODNESS" 
WHICH  ALWAYS  HAS  AND  ALWAYS 
WILL  IMPEL,  BUT  NOT  COERCE,  HU- 


442  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 


MAN  PERSONALITY  TO  STRUGGLE  TO- 
WARDS HIGHER  SPIRITUALITY. 

THIRD:  WE  MUST  NOT  CONSIDER 
THE  INFINITE  ONE  AS  A  FAR-AWAY 
RULER,  NOR  MUST  WE  THINK  OF  HIM 
AS  SIMPLY  STARTING  THE  COSMIC 
PROCESS  AND  AWAITING  THROUGH 
UNTOLD  AGES,  PAST  AND  FUTURE, 
FOR  SOME  FINAL  CONSUMMATION, 
EVEN  AS  FAR  AS  THE  EARTH  AND 

MANKIND  ARE  CONCERNED. 

*      *      * 

FROM  THE  RATIONAL  IMPORT  OF 
SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION  WE  ARE  FUL- 
LY ENTITLED  TO  BELIEVE  THAT  HIS 
LOVE  FOR  ALL  HUMANITY  ENTERS 
INTO  OUR  PERSONALITIES  IN  EVERY 
SPIRITUAL  IMPULSE,  AND  IS  AN  EVER- 
PRESENT  FORCE  IN  THE  SPIRITUAL 
LIFE  OF  ALL  HUMANITY. 

A  DIVINE  HERITAGE  IS  OUR  GIFT 
OF  MORAL  FREEDOM;  BUT  A  WORTH- 
LESS HERITAGE  IT  WOULD  BE  SAVE 
FOR  THE  SPIRITUAL  LOVE  OF  THE  IN- 
FINITE ONE  DWELLING  IN  OUR  SOULS 
MANIFESTED  IN  IMPULSES  TOWARD 
RIGHTEOUSNESS  AND  EVIDENCED  BY 
WHAT  WE  CALL  CONSCIENCE. 

FOURTH:  PERHAPS,  THEN,  WE  ARE 
ENTITLED  TO  THINK  OF  GOD  AS  A 
"SPIRIT"  IF  WE  DEFINE  THAT  TERM 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     443 


I  AS  UNCIRCUMSCRIBED  BY  ANY  FORM 
|  AND  AS  CONSTITUTING  INFINITE  IN- 
TELLIGENCE, INFINITE  POWER  AND 
INFINITE  PURPOSIVE  GOODNESS,  IM- 
MANENT IN  THE  PROCESS  OF  THE 
COSMOS. 

BUT  STILL  WE  PAUSE  AT  THE 
THRESHOLD  OF  THE  INFINITE,  HUM- 
BLY ADMITTING  THAT  WE  BUT 
FAINTLY  GLIMPSE  THE  LOVE  AND 
OMNISCIENCE  AND  POWER  OF  OUR 
GOD  AS  MANIFESTED  TO  US  IN  HIS 
UNIVERSE  AND  IN  HIS  DIVINE  PLAN 
FOR  HUMANITY. 


BUT  LET  US  SEARCH  OUR  SOULS 
FURTHER  FOR  EVIDENCES  OF  GOD'S 
LOVE. 

In  contemplating  endowments  from  the 
Supreme  Power  in  the  universe  to  Human 
Personality  (other  than  moral  freedom  and 
the  power  to  grow  in  spirituality),  we  should 
not  fully  weigh  the  inestimable  love  of  God 
towards  us  if  we  failed  to  realize  that  the 
power  to  appreciate  the  beautiful  in  Nature 
and  in  spiritual  life,  and  the  sense  of  supreme 
grandeur  which  overwhelms  us  when  we  con- 
template the  unfathomable  depths  of  the  uni- 
verse, and  the  strange  sense  of  wonder  which 
awes  us  as  we  think  of  the  realm  of  infinites- 


444  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


imal  things  revealed  by  the  microscope  and 
the  submerging  sense  of  the  infinite  with 
which  we  mentally  strive  to  realize  the  majes- 
ty and  power  and  glory  of  the  Process  of  God 
under  which  all  things  physical  and  mental 
and  spiritual  are  unfolding,  each  and  all  come 
to  us  as  part  of  the  Divine  Plan  and  as  fur- 
ther evidence  of  the  Infinite  Purposive  Good- 
ness of  God. 

•I*  *P  *l* 

By  ever  broadening  our  spiritual  vision, 
ever  opening  wide  our  souls  to  the  higher 
things  which  evidence  God's  love,  we  will 
crowd  out  the  things  in  our  spiritual  life 
which  tend  to  degrade  our  personalities  and 
to  hinder  our  progress  towards  the  Infinite 

One. 

*      *      * 

Notwithstanding  environment,  notwith- 
standing heredity,  notwithstanding  years  of 
moral  indifference,  it  is  within  the  moral 
freedom  granted  to  every  normal  personality 
to  let  the  love  of  the  Infinite  One  surge 
through  his  soul  and  expel  the  blackness  of 
selfishness  and  baseness.  Spiritual  desire 
and  earnestness  in  striving  to  do  better  will 
find  the  Divine  Power  assisting  us  to  gain 
spiritual  advancement. 

We  cannot  urge  too  often  that  the  spir- 
itual love  of  God  always  has  and  always  will 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK      445 


assist  human  personality  to  struggle  towards 
righteousness. 

IT  IS  MOST  PROBABLE  THAT  AS  HU- 
MANITY CLIMBS  EVER  HIGHER  ALONG 
THE  UPWARD  WAY,  WONDERFUL  AND 
UPLIFTING  NEW  VISIONS  OF  THE  IN- 
FINITE AND  OF  GOD'S  LOVE  WILL  BE 
GAINED. 


The  spiritual  ideas  of  Moses  Trustell  had  been 
undergoing  so  great  a  change  as  the  instruction 
of  the  degrees  culminated  in  the  building  of  a  new 
religious  faith,  that  he  realized  that  the  Mormon 
faith  could  never  again  satisfy  his  soul,  and  as  he 
contrasted  the  God  of  the  Religion  of  Progress 
with  the  physical  God  of  the  Mormon  religion  he 
became  overwhelmed  with  the  baseness  of  his  pre- 
conceived plan  to  betray  the  Society  of  Progress 
to  the  hierarchy  of  the  Mormon  Church;  and  the 
night  after  he  studied  the  thirteenth  page  he  made 
his  confession  to  the  Seven  and  pledged  his  life 
service  to  the  Religion  of  Progress. 

Darwin  Snowson  welcomed  the  confession  of 
Trustell  as  a  triumph  of  the  new  religion  and  the 
Seven  ever  regarded  the  penitent  with  most  kindly 
affection,  which  took  on  a  new  depth  when  on  the 
fateful  day  then  rapidly  approaching  Moses  Trus- 
tell became  the  first  martyr  of  the  Religion  of 
Progress. 


446  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Each  successive  page  of  the  Building  Book  de- 
veloped broadening  conceptions  of  "what  it  all 
means,"  and  the  page  which  discussed  the  "Na- 
ture of  God"  created  many  discussions  among  the 
disciples. 

Those  who  came  through  Christian  Science  to 
the  Eeligion  of  Progress  were  often  inclined  to 
assert  that  the  thirteenth  page  lacked  much  in  its 
predications  of  the  Nature  of  God  and  His  Kin- 
ship to  our  souls. 

All  such  questions  were  discussed  with  the 
Lesser  Master,  and  he  answered  frankly: 

"In  the  teachings  of  a  Eeligion  which  is 
founded  on  scientific  discoveries  and  the  conclu- 
sions which  can  be  rationally  deduced  therefrom, 
the  Beloved  Philosopher  went  far  beyond  the  lim- 
its set  by  many  scientists  in  ascribing  attributes 
to  the  Infinite. 

"But  he  believed  that  all  that  is  said  in  the 
page  you  have  just  read  is  fully  justified  by  the 
Divine  Plan,  and  whoever,  in  truth  and  reason,  can 
find  in  his  own  soul  more  than  is  told  in  the  in- 
struction, cannot  injure  the  Eeligion  of  Progress 
by  believing  and  expressing  his  belief,  but  may 
so  convince  its  disciples  that  the  light  of  more 
true  knowledge  of  God  may  shine  forth  and  true 
spiritual  gain  be  made. 

"Yet  you  who  come  from  Christian  Science 
must  ever  bear  in  mind  that  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  and  his  followers  are  not  to  be  deemed 
established  truth  in  considering  the  relationship 
of  God  to  humanity,  nor  in  determining  the  nature 
and  attributes  of  God. 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     447 

"  Intelligent  faith  often  is  the  foreshadowing 
of  demonstrated  principle  and  pure,  high-minded 
religious  dreamers  may  awaken  to  find  that  their 
dreams  have  proved  to  be  truth  itself. ' ' 

The  next  page  of  the  Building  Book  disclosed 
instruction  which  necessarily  enchained  the  inter- 
est of  every  one: 


14. 
THE  INDIVIDUAL  PERSONALITY. 

In  reply  to  the  question,  "What  is  the 
Best  We  Can  Do  While  We  Are  Here?"  our 
relations  to  our  fellow  men  were  emphasized 
while  our  personal  development  of  character 
was  not  directly  mentioned,  though  necessar- 
ily involved  in  the  entire  answer. 

Yet  the  Divine  Plan  values  the  individual 
personality  in  very  high  degree. 
*      *      * 

THE  UNIT  OF  PROGRESS  IS  THAT 
INDIVIDUAL  PERSONALITY  WHICH  IN 
SOME  DEGREE  CLIMBS  THE  UPWARD 
WAY  TOWARDS  THE  IDEAL  IN  AD- 
VANCE OF  THOSE  WHO  ARE  MAKING 
LIFE'S  JOURNEY  AT  THE  SAME  TIME. 

Herbert  Spencer  cast  the  light  of  science 
upon  this  question  with  illuminating  force: 

In  discussing  ethical  evolution  he  dis- 
cerned that  always  there  were  developing  in 


448  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


communities  of  men  certain  "highest  na- 
tures," and  of  these  who  had  climbed  higher 
towards  the  ideal  than  the  great  mass  of  the 
community  he  said: 

"What  now  in  them  is  occasional  and 
feeble  may  be  expected  with  further  evolu- 
tion to  become  habitual  and  strong,  and  what 
now  characterizes  the  exceptionally  high  may 
be  expected  eventually  to  characterize  all. 

"For  that  which  best  human  nature  is  ca- 
pable of  is  within  the  reach  of  human  nature 
at  large.'* 

Spencer  thus  expresses  the  Law  of  the  Up- 
ward Way  in  different  words,  though  it  is 
very  clear  that  he  failed  to  follow  his  own 
logic  into  broad  discernment  of  the  Divine 
Plan  for  humanity. 


EACH  OF  US  CAN  BE  ENTIRELY 
CERTAIN  THAT  GOD  GAVE  US  MORAL 
FREEDOM— THE  POWER  TO  CHOOSE 
GOOD  OR  EVIL— SO  THAT  WE  MAY,  IF 
WE  WILL,  DEVELOP  IN  SPIRITUALITY, 
AND  BUILD  CHARACTERS  WHICH 
WILL  AID  IN  UPLIFTING  OUR  RACE. 

THE  IMPELLING  POWER  OF  GOD'S 
LOVE  IS  OURS  TO  HELP  US  GROW  IN 
RIGHTEOUSNESS. 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     449 


The  Religion  of  Progress  discards  all 
ideas  that  in  order  to  secure  a  happy  life  after 
death  the  individual  personality  must  have  a 
savior  through  whom  God's  forgiveness  for 
all  sin  will  be  granted. 

Divine  Love  is  not  seeking  to  condemn 
the  individual  members  of  the  human  race. 

Divine  Love  is  seeking  to  uplift  human 
personality — to  uplift  you  and  me. 

*      *      * 

There  is  no  wrath  of  God  to  appease  and 
no  Divine  anger  to  make  us  afraid. 

As  his  will  always  is  manifested  in  un- 
changeable laws  affecting  every  human  being 
without  discrimination,  and  as  His  Plan  con- 
templates a  growth  of  the  race  from  animal- 
ism and  ignorance  up  to  much  finite  knowl- 
edge and  towards  the  ideal,  spiritually,  we 
can  be  very  sure  that  there  is  no  condemna- 
tion and  punishment  awaiting  the  morally 
weak. 

We  are  slowly  learning  that  many  indi- 
viduals are  moral  defectives  through  no  fault 
of  their  own,  and  also  we  are  learning  not  to 
judge  them  as  morally  responsible. 

3ff  JJC  5jC 

To  say  that  such  personalities  need  a  me- 
diator to  plead  with  the  Infinite  One  for  for- 
giveness is  to  accuse  God  of  less  than  the  bet- 
ter human  justice  which  is  gradually  giving 


450  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 


weight  to  the  idea  that  they  are  not  to  be  pun- 
ished for  acts  for  which  they  are  not  morally 

responsible. 

*  *      * 

Neither  ought  any  finite  personality  ac- 
cuse God  of  planning  to  hold  to  rigid  judg- 
ment individuals  who  in  His  Plan  occupy 
earthly  bodies  for  the  span  of  a  human  life 
time. 

Narrow  indeed  is  the  soul  which  thus  esti- 
mates Divine  Love  as  manifested  to  the  little 
spiritual  creatures  of  His  process. 

In  the  instruction  upon  immortality  sug- 
gestions will  be  made  as  to  the  possibilities  of 
the  life  beyond  death,  enabling  even  those 
who  deliberately  choose  evil  conduct  while 
here  on  earth  to  gradually  transform  the 
baseness  of  their  personalities  into  growing 

spirituality. 

*  *      * 

THOUGH  THE  FABLES  OF  THE 
GREAT  WHITE  THRONE  AND  THE 
JUDGMENT  SEAT  OF  GOD  MUST  NOT 
LONGER  BRING  FEAR  TO  THE  SOULS 
OF  MEN,  YET  THERE  REMAIN  INCEN- 
TIVES TO  RIGHT  CONDUCT  WHICH 
WHOLLY  OVERSHADOW  THE  DIS- 
CARDED DARK  DREAD  OF  HELL  AND 
ETERNAL  PUNISHMENT. 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     451 


FIRST:  WE,  WHO  HAVE  THE  DE- 
SIRE TO  YIELD  TO  THE  IMPELLING 
POWER  OF  DIVINE  LOVE  AND  TO 
GROW  IN  SPIRITUALITY,  HAVE  A 
FIELD  OF  SOUL  COURAGE  AND  SOUL 
ENDEAVOR  WHICH  IS  AS  BROAD  AS 
THE  LIFE  OF  ALL  OUR  RACE. 

SECOND:  THE  LIMITLESS  FIELD  OF 
EDUCATING  OURSELVES  AND  ALL  OF 
OUR  EARTHLY  BROTHERS  AND  SIS- 
TERS TO  KNOWLEDGE  OF  GOD'S  PLAN, 
AND  TO  SPIRITUAL  DESIRE  TO  CO- 
OPERATE IN  CARRYING  OUT  THE 
PLAN,  SO  FAR  AS  CAN  BE  DONE  AT  THE 
PRESENT  STAGE  OF  SPIRITUAL  EVO- 
LUTION, SHOULD  INSPIRE  US  TO 
STRONG  EFFORT. 

THIRD:  TO  GIVE  PERSONAL  LOV- 
ING SERVICE,  AS  UNSELFISH  AS  WE 
CAN,  TO  THOSE  WHO  ARE  NEAR  AND 
DEAR  TO  US,  AND  TO  WIDEN  SERVICE 
INTO  CO-OPERATION  WITH  ALL  OTH- 
ERS TO  WHOM  WE  CAN  GIVE  SERV- 
ICE AND  CO-OPERATION,  ARE  PLAIN 
PATHS  ALONG  THE  UPWARD  WAY, 
AND,  AS  EVER,  ONE  INCENTIVE  IS  TO 
BUILD  PERSONAL  CHARACTER  WHICH 
AIDS  THE  OBJECTS  OF  THE  DIVINE 

PLAN. 

*      *      * 


452  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

+, 

FOURTH:  AMONGST  THE  NEW  SPIR- 
ITUAL IDEALS  TOWARDS  WHICH  WE 
WILL  STRIVE,  AS  WE  LEARN  THE 
DEEPER  MEANINGS  FOR  OUR  EXIST- 
ENCE AS  ACTIVE  AGENTS  IN  CARRY- 
ING OUT  THE  PLAN  OF  THE  INFINITE 
ONE,  WE  WILL  FIND  COMMINGLED 
CERTAIN  OLD  IDEALS  WHICH  OUR 
RACE  HAS  SLOWLY  BUILT  UP  TO  AID 
IN  SPIRITUAL  PROGRESS. 

NEED  IT  BE  SAID  THAT  HONESTY 
IN  ACTION  AND  IN  THOUGHT,  TRUTH- 
FULNESS IN  ALL  OUR  COMMUNICA- 
TIONS WITH  OUR  FELLOW  MEN, 
ENTIRE  RESPECT  FOR  THE  LIVES  AND 
PERSONS  OF  ALL  OTHERS,  TEMPER- 
ANCE IN  FOOD  AND  DRINK,  AND  DE- 
CENT RESPECT  FOR  THE  OPINIONS  OF 
THOSE  WHO  DIFFER  FROM  US,  EACH 
AND  ALL  ARE  TO  BE  BUILT  INTO  OUR 
PERSONALITIES  AS  WELL  AS  WE 
MAY. 

THUS  FAR,  AT  LEAST,  HAVE  MULTI- 
TUDES CLIMBED  THE  UPWARD  WAY. 

.•*•  ***  •!• 

IS  IT  NECESSARY  TO  SAY  THAT  WE 
MUST  CONTROL  OUR  PASSIONS  IF  WE 
WOULD  BUILD  PERSONAL  CHARAC- 
TER IN  ANY  DEGREE  WORTHY? 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     453 


ANGER  HINDERS  SOUL  PROGRESS. 
TO  SEEK  REVENGE  IS  BASE  AND  DE- 
GRADING. TO  CONSTANTLY  YIELD  TO 
SELFISH  DESIRES,  COVETOUSNESS, 
PRIDE  OR  SPIRITUAL  INDIFFERENCE, 
MAKES  OUR  PERSONALITIES  OUT  OF 
HARMONY  WITH  THE  DIVINE  PLAN 
AND  UNYIELDING  TO  THE  LOVE  OF 

GOD  ALWAYS  WAITING  TO  UPLIFT  US. 

*      *      * 

SO,  TOO,  ONE  OF  THE  GREAT  LES- 
SONS WHICH  HAVE  BEEN  LEARNED  IN 
SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION  RELATES  TO 
THE  FORMATION  AND  THE  REFORMA- 
TION OF  PERSONAL  HABITS. 

WE  KNOW  THAT  HABIT  IS  POWER- 
FUL IN  BUILDING  CHARACTER;  WE 
KNOW  THAT  AN  ACQUIRED  HABIT  IS 
DIFFICULT  TO  CHANGE;  BUT  IT  IS 
ALSO  BECOMING  UNDERSTOOD  THAT 
THE  POWER  OF  SHOCKING  OUR- 
SELVES OUT  OF  A  BAD  HABIT  IS  OURS, 
AND  THAT  BY  USING  THE  IMPULSES 
OF  DIVINE  LOVE  WITHIN  US  TO  AS- 
SIST US  WE  CAN  GET  OUT  OF  AND 
KEEP  OUT  OF  THE  HABIT  GROOVES 
WHICH  IMPEDE  SOUL  PROGRESS. 

•I*  *K  n* 

LASTLY:  WE  MUST  EDUCATE  OUR 
CONSCIENCES  CONSTANTLY  TO 
GUARD  OUR  CHARACTER  BUILDING. 


454  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


IT  MAY  SEEM  STRANGE  TO  CON- 
SIDER THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MON- 
ITOR OF  GOOD  AND  EVIL.  A  LITTLE 
REFLECTION  WILL  MAKE  IT  CLEAR 
THAT  THE  DIVINE  IMPULSES  WITHIN 
OUR  PERSONALITIES  WHICH  IMPEL 
US  TOWARDS  RIGHTEOUS  CONDUCT 
HAVE  NEVER  NECESSARILY  BOUND 
THE  INDIVIDUAL  TO  ANY  RIGID,  IN- 
FLEXIBLE RULES  OF  RIGHT  AND 
WRONG. 

THE  RIGHT  OF  ONE  MAN  MAY  BE 
MORALLY  WRONG  FOR  ANOTHER. 

THE  DIVINE  PLAN  NECESSARILY 
MEANS  THAT  OUR  PERSONALITIES 
MAY  BE  ADVANCED  IN  CONDUCT  AND 
SUCH  ADVANCE  REQUIRES  THAT  THE 
CONSCIENCE  SHALL  GUARD  AGAINST 
RETROGRESSION. 

BIGOTRY,  INTOLERANCE,  RELIG- 
IOUS FANATICISM  AND  KINDRED 
HUMAN  NARROWNESSES  EVIDENCE 
PERVERTED  CONSCIENCES,  AND  SOME 
OF  THESE  ARE  UNQUESTIONABLY  CA- 
PABLE OF  EDUCATION  TO  THE  SAME 
TOLERANT  BREADTH  AND  HEIGHT  OF 
THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS. 

*      *      * 

WE  CANNOT  ALL  LEAD  IN  THE 
STRUGGLE  FOR  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  BUT 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     455 


WE  CAN  EACH  JOIN  IN  THE  SPIRITUAL 
BATTLES  FOR  THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF 
OUR  RACE,  ON  THE  SIDE  OF  PROG- 
RESS, AND  IN  ACCORD  WITH  THE  DI- 
VINE PLAN,  AND  EACH  OF  US  ALSO 
CAN  STRIVE  TO  BUILD  OUR  PERSONAL 
CHARACTER  SO  AS  TO  INSURE  OUR 
OWN  SPIRITUAL  GROWTH  TOWARDS 
GOD. 


THERE  IS  EVERY  REASON  TO  CON- 
CLUDE THAT  THE  DIVINE  PLAN  CON- 
TEMPLATES THAT  THE  LIVES  OF 
THOSE  WHO  JOIN  IN  THE  UPWARD 
SPIRITUAL  MARCH  OF  HUMANITY 
SHALL  BE  RATIONALLY  JOYOUS  AND 
HAPPY. 

SPIRITUAL  SERENITY,  COURAGE 
AND  HOPEFULNESS  ARE  FUNDAMEN- 
TALLY THE  CHARACTER  PRODUCTS 
OF  THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS. 


Among  the  records  of  the  comments  upon  the 
instruction  appearing  on  the  fourteenth  page  of 
the  Building  Book  was  a  question  of  Zora  Wells: 

"Will  not  Christians  say  to  us  that  we  believe 
we  can  work  out  our  own  salvation  while  they 
know  that  no  one  is  without  sin  and  that  no  one 
can  say  that  he  does  not  need  the  forgiveness  of 
God?" 


456  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

And  the  Lesser  Master  answered: 

"Divine  Love  is  immeasurable.  It  does  not 
stand  aloof  waiting  to  be  petitioned  either  directly 
or  by  a  mediator  to  forgive  human  frailties.  God 
is  not  recording  in  any  book  or  judgment  rolls  the 
moral  mistakes  of  each  of  our  race. 

"We  believe  that  the  knowledge  of  the  Divine 
Plan  brings  another  message  to  each  of  us  which 
transcends  beyond  measure  the  Christian  idea  of 
personal  salvation  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus. 
This  message  is  taught  on  the  next  page  of  our 
book. 

"Personal  salvation  is  not  to  be  considered  in 
the  Eeligion  of  Progress,  because  it  implies  that 
God  occupies  a  relationship  to  our  souls  which  is 
like  that  of  human  justice  against  criminals,  while 
we  surely  would  be  spiritually  blind  to  ascribe 
such  an  attitude  to  the  overwhelming  power  of 
Divine  Love. 

"If  any  soul  feels  the  need  of  forgiveness  for 
most  grievous  sins,  it  can  be  sure  that  true  re- 
pentance will  appeal  to  Infinite  Love  and  not  to  a 
severe  judge  weighing  frailty  in  order  to  con- 
demn." 

Mildred  Thatcher,  after  pondering  over  the 
page  devoted  to  individuality,  remarked: 

"I  have  often  heard  it  said  that  economic  so- 
cialism would  destroy  individuality  and  take 
away  the  impulses  to  individual  initiative  and 
thereby  all  progress  would  be  checked,  but  in  the 
Religion  of  Progress  individual  effort  is  some- 
thing vital  and  because  it  will  be  given  'to  con- 
sciously assist  in  carrying  out  the  Divine  Plan7 


MOEE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     457 

the  greater  power  will  it  have.  There  will  be  won- 
derful fields  for  individual  action. ' ' 

To  her  the  Lesser  Master  replied: 

"The  field  of  the  Religion  of  Progress  reaches 
every  human  activity. 

"In  some  way  all  human  endeavor  is  related 
to  human  progress  or  human  retrogression. 

"It  is  the  cry  of  selfishness  and  avarice  and  not 
of  spiritual  prophecy  which  pretends  to  see  the 
destruction  of  individuality  or  individual  initia- 
tive in  economic  co-operation,  provided  it  be  based 
on  the  Divine  Plan. 

"Stronger  incentives  to  individuality  will 
exist  under  the  new  religion's  institutionalism 
than  ever  have  existed. 

"The  incentive  of  working  towards  the  Ideal 
with  sure  knowledge  that  the  Infinite  One  is 
giving  Divine  Love  in  co-operation  beyond  ques- 
tion will  inspire  great  individual  effort." 

As  the  satin  cover  was  removed  the  last  of  the 
questions  upon  the  Last  Door  again  appeared: 


15. 
WHITHER  DO  WE  GO? 

DOES  HUMAN  PERSONALITY  SUR- 
VIVE PHYSICAL  DEATH? 

Little  has  he  comprehended  the  DIVINE 
PLAN  who  dares  to  answer  that  death  ends 
all. 


458  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


He  who  says  "I  know  not"  may  be  intel- 
lectually honest,  but  he,  too,  has  failed  to  go 
on  to  the  end  in  considering  the  facts  of 
man's  origin  and  history. 

To  those  who  have  valued  human  person- 
ality and  the  Divine  Plan  there  can  be  only 
one  answer  which  does  not  shock  our  love  of 
God. 

HUMAN  PERSONALITY  DOES  SUR- 
VIVE THE  PHYSICAL  DEATH  OF  THE 
BODY  WITH  WHICH  PERSONALITY  IS 
ASSOCIATED  WHILE  ON  EARTH. 


That  this  is  a  conclusion  and  not  a  demon- 
strated fact  will  at  first  cause  many  who  have 
pondered  the  problem  to  shrink  from  the 
positive  assertion. 

YET  IT  SEEMS  DEMONSTRABLY 
CLEAR  THAT  UNLESS  WE  STULTIFY 
THE  DIVINE  PLAN  AND  DEGRADE  THE 
INFINITE  ONE  WE  MUST  CONCLUDE 
THAT  PERSONALITY  DOES  SURVIVE 
THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PHYSICAL  MECH- 
ANISM. 

*      *      * 

WITH  OUR  VISION  CLEARED  OF 
ALL  SAVE  THE  SUPREME  FACTS,  LET 
US  LOOK  FOR  THE  DIVINE  PLEDGE  OF 
IMMORTALITY. 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     459 


First:  We  find  that  the  Infinite  One  in 
His  Divine  Plan  made  men  moral  beings,  pos- 
sessed of  personalities  which,  through  the  en- 
dowment of  moral  freedom,  are  capable  of 
spiritual  advancement,  the  degree  of  which  is 
measured  largely  by  the  contemporaneous 
spiritual  advancement  of  their  fellow  men. 


Second:  God's  great  desire,  evidenced  in 
the  working  out  of  the  Divine  Plan,  is  that 
human  personality  shall  voluntarily  choose 
conduct  which  shall  conform  to  His  purpose 
that  the  race  of  men  shall  be  uplifted  higher 
and  ever  higher  in  the  great  march  along  the 
Upward  Way  towards  the  Ideal. 


Third:  But  the  individual  cannot  await 
the  procession  of  the  race  upward,  to  the  far 
heights,  still  to  be  attained  in  ages  to  come. 

In  the  great  Process  of  God,  with  his  con- 
temporaries, the  individual  is  dominant  on 
earth  for  only  a  few  years  in  the  purposely 
slow  unfolding  of  the  Plan. 

So  the  individual  personality,  while  it  is 
the  unit  of  progress  and  therefore  valued 
greatly,  is  always  occupying  a  mere  tempo- 
rary place,  and  the  cataclasm  of  physical 
death  finds  it  at  most  but  far  beneath  its  own 
spiritual  ideals. 


460  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 


With  many  of  us  it  finds  us  with  charac- 
ters streaked  with  many  things  which  we  our- 
selves condemn  as  morally  weak  or  morally 
wrong.  And  yet  we  yearn  to  grow  in  knowl- 
edge and  in  spirituality  after  we  have  passed 

death's  portals. 

*      *      * 

Fourth:  Consider  how  futile  the  whole 
Plan  respecting  man  would  be  if  physical 
death  also  ended  the  spiritual  life  of  man. 

How  impossibly  ineffective,  how  untrue  to 
its  object,  the  Process  of  Spiritual  life  would 
be  if  it  destroyed  individual  personality  just 
when  it  had  climbed  a  little  way  towards  God 
and  yearned  inexpressibly  to  progress  spirit- 
ually to  far  heights  not  possible  to  the  day 
and  age  of  its  sojourn  on  earth. 

Consider,  too,  even  the  spiritually  igno- 
rant and  the  morally  base. 

They,  too,  are  creatures  of  the  process. 

Shall  they  die  as  the  ox  of  the  field  or  the 
tiger  of  the  jungle,  or  is  the  Plan  so  great 
that  their  personalities  shall  be  brought  to 
spiritual  light  and  progress  in  the  unknown 
realm  where  human  personality  goes  after 
the  body  cells  are  doomed  to  dissolution? 

May  it  not  also  be  that  spiritual  co-opera- 
tion for  the  uplifting  of  others  will  be  a  field 
of  action  beyond  the  realm  of  earth? 

Fifth:  Consider,  again,  that  the  Infinite 
One  gave  our  personalities  the  yearnings  to 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     461 


grow  spiritually  and  at  all  times  gave  to  hu- 
manity the  belief  in  a  future  life  beyond  the 
one  we  are  living  on  earth,  and  the  hope  of 
immortality. 

Is  God  playing  with  us  and  deceiving  us? 
To  ask  the  question  is  to  answer  it. 

WE  ARE  ENTITLED  TO  CONCLUDE 
THAT  IMMORTALITY  IS  PLEDGED  TO 
HUMAN  PERSONALITY  AS  A  NECES- 
SITY OF  THE  DIVINE  PLAN. 
*      *      * 

Science  has  largely  discarded  the  idea 
that  the  human  brain  is  true  personality  and 
that  when  the  brain  dies  personality  neces- 
sarily dies  with  it. 

Science  now  tells  us  that  in  each  brain 
there  are  myriads  of  changes  constantly  tak- 
ing place  in  the  cells  of  the  brain,  so  that  we 
may  say  that  the  brain  is  constantly  renewing 
itself  as  a  physical  machine. 

Elimination  and  renewal  make  many 
cycles  of  complete  change  of  the  entire  brain 
during  an  ordinary  life  time,  but  personality, 
the  spirit  of  man,  is  a  developing  unit  from 
physical  birth  to  physical  death. 

Under  the  established  order  of  evolution 
personality  uses  the  constantly  changing  ani- 
mal cells  of  brain  and  body  through  infancy, 
youth,  middle  age  and  old  age,  to  the  gates 
of  ultimate,  irremediable  cell  death;  they 
change  entirely  and  repeatedly,  but  person- 


462  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


ality  is  supremely  conscious  that  it  is  the 
same  individuality  through  all  of  life  and 
that  it  is  using  the  brain  cells  for  its  great 
evolutional  purposes  under  the  Divine  Plan. 
THERE  IS  NO  VALID  REASON  TO 
ASSERT  BECAUSE  THE  EARTHLY  IN- 
STRUMENT  OF  PERSONALITY  DIES 
THAT  PERSONALITY  ITSELF  DIES 
WITH  IT. 

"TO  WHAT  REALM  WILL  THE  SPIR- 
IT OF  MAN  GO  WHEN  ITS  EMBODI- 
MENT OF  EARTH  BECOMES  UNFIT  FOR 
ITS  DWELLING  PLACE?"  WHO  CAN 
SAY? 

The  Spirit  of  Man  while  embodied, 
through  will  and  memory,  is  projected  in  a 
moment  into  any  land  where  the  individual 
has  ever  been. 

So,  too,  through  garnered  knowledge,  it 
may  go  into  far  lands  of  earth  and  dwell  in 
thought  upon  a  thousand  things  which  have 
not  been  physically  seen. 

Again,  through  the  revelations  of  Science, 
it  may  contemplate  the  sun  and  moon  and  the 
planets  of  our  solar  system,  and  then  it  may 
go  on  and  on  through  boundless  space  search- 
ing, in  thought,  the  apparently  illimitable 
universe. 

Yet  again,  in  abstract  thought,  personal- 
ity may  go  far  into  the  wide  realm  which 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     463 


philosophy  opens  up,  and  may  garner  the 
great  fruits  of  the  discovered  laws  which  de- 
fine the  process  of  physical  evolution  and  the 
less  understood  laws  which  impel  in  spiritual 
evolution. 

Personality  may  even  reach  out  in  rever- 
ent adoration  and  spiritual  love  to  the  Infinite 

One. 

*      *      * 

IS  IT  NOT  UNQUESTIONABLE  THAT 
THE  SPIRIT  OF  MAN  IS  UNLIKE  HIS 
BODY,  WHICH  IS  CONFINED  IN  ITS 
ACTIVITIES  TO  A  LITTLE  SPACE  OF 
TEMPORARY  ENVIRONMENT? 

Man's  spirit,  through  the  device  of  print- 
ing, may  send  a  thought  into  the  spirits  of 
millions  of  other  men,  both  contemporaries 
and  through  future  ages,  while  his  body 
brings  him  into  physical  speech  with  com- 
paratively few. 

The  Divine  Plan  gave  personality  while 
on  earth  these  wonderful  endowments,  and 
surely  it  can  be  trusted  in  highest  faith  in  the 
Infinite  One  to  provide  a  higher  environment 
for  personality  in  the  spiritual  life  beyond 
the  grave. 

What  our  life  shall  be  on  the  next  plane  of 
existence  we  know  not,  save  that  then,  too,  it 
will  be  within  the  Divine  Plan. 


464  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


THE  ONLY  THING  WHICH  PERSON- 
ALITY TAKES  WITH  IT  THROUGH 
DEATH'S  PORTALS  IS  CHARACTER. 

Through  all  the  years  from  birth  to  death 
each  human  being  is  building  up  a  personal 
character  which  may  be  good  or  less  good  or 
bad  or  less  bad,  and  it  is  well  to  realize  that 
the  character  we  build  goes  with  us  beyond 
the  grave. 

THAT  THERE  IS  ANY  SUDDEN  PER- 
FECTION  OF  PERSONALITY  UPON  THE 
PASSING  OF  EARTHLY  LIFE  FINDS  NO 
SANCTION  AT  ALL  IN  THE  PROCESS  OF 
SPIRITUAL  EVOLUTION. 

WE  ARE  SIMPLY  OURSELVES, 
WITH  ALL  WHICH  THAT  IMPLIES. 


FINALLY,  ONE  GREAT  CONCLUSION 
SEEMS  MOST  RATIONAL. 

THE  DIVINE  PLAN  IN  ITS  TOTALITY 
OF  NECESSITY  IMPLIES  THAT,  AS 
WE  INDIVIDUALLY  PASS  ON  FROM 
EARTH'S  EMBODIMENT,  WE  WILL  BE 
UNDER  THE  INFINITE  MERCY  AND 
CARE  OF  DIVINE  LOVE. 

AND  THAT  WE  WILL  HAVE  THE  IN- 
ESTIMABLE  PRIVILEGE  OF  SPIRITUAL 
PROGRESS  TOWARDS  GOD  IN  THAT 
REALM  TO  WHICH  WE  SHALL  GO. 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     465 

When  the  disciples  finished  the  Seven  readings 
of  the  fifteenth  page,  they  realized  that  in  general 
terms  the  questions  on  the  Last  Door  had  been 
answered  so  far  as  the  Society  of  Progress  could 
answer  them,  and  many  remarks  of  individuals 
respecting  the  instruction  were  recorded  in  the 
records  of  the  Chamber  of  Council. 

In  these  records  it  was  told  that  Mollie  Rich- 
ards had  said: 

"I  can  well  understand  that  many  Christians 
will  feel  that  the  future  life  taught  by  the  Society 
is  strangely  different  from  the  heaven  of  Christian 
Orthodoxy,  and  at  first  they  will  fail  to  see  the 
better  hope  in  the  power  to  grow  in  spirituality 
than  in  the  heaven  of  their  belief. ' ' 

And  the  recorded  reply  of  the  Lesser  Master 
was  this: 

' '  The  dreams  of  heaven  taught  in  Christianity 
served  most  useful  evolutionary  purposes.  They 
undoubtedly  gave  spiritual  hope  and  spiritual  vis- 
ion to  millions  who  otherwise  would  not  have  had 
the  spiritual  growth  which  came  to  them  through 
such  beliefs. 

''But  as  the  farthest  evolved  have  pushed 
higher  along  the  Upward  Way  they  have  dis- 
cerned that  the  heaven  of  Christianity,  'Where  the 
wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at 
rest, '  is  not  a  heaven  for  any  who  would  grow  to- 
ward God. 

' '  To  grow  in  knowledge  and  in  spirituality  is 
infinitely  to  be  preferred  to  the  sensuous  joys  of 
the  Christian  belief." 

Zora  Wells,  in  characteristic  manner,  had 
said: 


466  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"Well,  since  I  grew  np  the  ' crowns  and  trum- 
pets and  golden  streets'  haven't  exactly  appealed 
to  me.  I  am  ignorant  enough  to  desire  to  learn  far 
more  than  I  ever  will  if  I  live  to  be  a  hundred,  and 
I  am  perfectly  aware  that  I  am  such  a  little  way 
advanced  that  I  'yearn  beyond  expression'  to  have 
the  opportunity  to  go  on  after  my  body  and  my- 
self have  parted  forever,  and  my  faith  is  sure  that 
God  has  planned  that  I  shall  have  the  opportunity 
to  do  so." 

The  brief  answer  of  Darwin  Snowson  was : 

"Zora,  you  surely  have  voiced  the  Divine  Plan 
beyond  our  earth  life,  even  though  we  know  not 
where  nor  how  the  Plan  will  be  effectuated." 

It  had  become  plain  to  each  disciple  that  there 
remained  but  a  page  or  two  of  the  huge  book  ere 
the  back  cover  would  close  the  volume,  and  as  the 
next  great  leaf  swung  over,  the  natural  curiosity 
which  had  greeted  each  succeeding  page  was  en- 
hanced by  the  conclusion  that  the  two  pages  thus 
brought  to  view  would  end  the  instruction. 


16. 
THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS. 

The  Religion  of  Progress  is  necessarily  a 
religion  of  Happiness  and  Optimism. 

In  the  Law  of  the  Upward  Way,  inheres 
great  spiritual  hope  and  a  pledge  of  spiritual 
happiness  to  everyone  who  will  comprehend 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     467 


the  meaning  and  will  join  in  enhancing  the 
divine  potency  upon  the  destiny  of  man. 

*      *      * 

When  one  seeking  truth  and  willing  to 
follow  its  dictates,  has  demonstrated  to  the 
satisfaction  of  his  intelligence  that,  under  de- 
sign of  God,  the  human  race  is  ever  progress- 
ing toward  higher  spirituality,  then,  hoping 
for  the  better  and  working  for  the  better,  be- 
come the  sources  of  religious  optimism  and 
spiritual  happiness  which  cannot  fail  to  bless 
the  life  of  such  a  one,  and  spiritual  co-opera- 
tion with  one's  fellow  human  beings  will 
surely  bring  deep  spiritual  uplift  to  the  soul 
which  seeks  the  best  in  life. 


In  a  practical  way  the  Religion  of  Prog- 
ress will  open  up  vast  and  ever-expanding 
fields  of  human  endeavor  for  the  uplifting  of 
humanity  which  will  give  happy,  strong  pur- 
pose to  the  spiritual  life  of  each  personality 
which  truly  seeks  to  carry  out  the  objects  of 
the  religion,  and  likewise  will  make  serene 
and  hopeful  all  the  daily  life  of  the  true  disci- 
ple of  the  religion. 

SJC  3JC  Sft 

Again,  when  many  shall  join  in  united  in- 
telligent effort  to  crush  down  and  destroy  the 
things  which  hinder  the  spiritual  progress  of 
mankind,  and  to  build  up  and  foster  all  which 


468  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


tends  to  bring  the  human  race  to  higher  spir- 
ituality, can  there  be  any  question  that  the 
individual  will  find  true  happiness  and  higher 
religious  satisfaction  in  helping  on  the  great 
work? 

5p  *I*  *** 

Wonderful  days  are  on  the  way.  The  true 
history  of  mankind  is  the  history  of  its  prog- 
ress along  the  Upward  Way,  and  when  we 
have  learned  to  be  masters  of  ourselves 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  desires  and  temp- 
tations of  animalism,  passion  and  selfishness, 
the  greater  destiny  of  humanity  will  unfold 
under  the  Divine  Plan. 


Doubtless  we  must  learn  slowly  the  way  to 
the  better  happiness  and  towards  the  Ideal, 
and  many  of  us  who  are  now  living,  and  many 
yet  unborn,  ere  they  pass  on  to  the  future 
life,  will  fail  on  earth  to  get  more  than 
glimpses  of  the  coming  glory  which  will  spir- 
itually beautify  the  lives  of  those  who  are  yet 
to  come  into  life's  great  stream,  but  this  tri- 
umph of  the  spiritual  amongst  men  is  as 
surely  foreshadowed  in  spiritual  evolution  as, 
in  cosmic  evolution,  is  the  continuity  of  hu- 
man life  into  the  far  ages  of  a  time  we  cannot 
now  measure. 

When,  in  a  natural  way,  the  great  cosmic 
Divine  Plan  will  end  all  human  life  on  earth 


MOKE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     469 


as  the  sun's  fires  die  down  and  the  earth 
grows  unfit  for  the  human  animal,  there  re- 
main great  hopes  that  our  race  will  have 
grown  in  knowledge  and  spiritual  power,  so 
that  on  the  dying  world  there  will  be  no 
downward  swing  of  humanity  back  towards 
animalism  and  ignorance. 


LASTLY:  THE  RELIGION  OF  PROG- 
RESS BRINGS  TO  YOU  AND  TO  EVERY 
PERSONALITY  THE  POWER  TO  CON- 
SCIOUSLY ASSIST  DIVINE  LOVE  IN 
HELPING  OUR  SPIRITUAL  BROTHERS 
AND  SISTERS  OF  OUR  RACE  TO  PRO- 
GRESS ALONG  THE  UPWARD  WAY 
TOWARDS  GOD  BY  STRONG,  SANE, 
COURAGEOUS,  ORGANIZED  EFFORT. 

IT  IS  THE  RELIGION  OF  TRUTH 
AND  COMPREHENDS  ALL  TRUTH. 

IT  IS  RESPONSIVE  TO  ALL  AD- 
VANCE OF  KNOWLEDGE  AND  SPIRIT- 
UAL GROWTH. 

IT  DEFENDS  GOD  AGAINST  FALSE 
REVELATIONS  AND  AGAINST  DEGRAD- 
ING CONCEPTIONS. 

IT  GIVES  EVERY  SOUL  FREEDOM  IN 
ITS  WORSHIP  OF  THE  INFINITE  ONE, 
ONLY  REQUIRING  HONESTY  AND  UN- 
PREJUDICED, DILIGENT  SEARCH  FOR 
THE  TRUTH. 


470  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 


IT  DISCLOSES  A  DIVINE  PLAN  FOR 
HUMANITY  CLEARLY  REVEALED  TO 
ALL  MEN  IN  RECORDS  MADE  BY  GOD 
IN  THE  UNFOLDING  OF  THE  PLAN. 

IN  ITS  BREADTH  AND  HEIGHT  AND 
SPIRITUAL  POWER  IT  IS  FAR  BEYOND 
AND  ABOVE  ANY  OTHER  RELIGION, 
PAST  OR  PRESENT. 

IT  FOREVER  RECONCILES  RELIG- 
ION AND  SCIENCE  AND  ESTABLISHES 
PERMANENT  UNITY  BETWEEN  THEM. 

IT  IS  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  FU- 
TURE. 


Quite  naturally,  most  disciples  deemed  the  six- 
teenth page  a  fitting  ending  to  the  Building  Book, 
and  yet  the  satin  panel  covering  the  opposite  page 
suggested  that  there  still  remained  an  unread  final 
instruction. 

When  the  disciple  saw  the  cover  removed  he 
readily  comprehended  why  the  book  ended  as  it 
did. 


MORE  OF  THE  BUILDING  BOOK     471 


17. 
TRUTH  THE  GREAT  MASTER. 

ALWAYS  THE  RELIGION  OF  PROG- 
RESS SHALL  HAVE  BUT  ONE  MASTER, 
AND  THAT  MASTER  OF  NECESSITY  IS 
NOT  HUMAN  AND  FALLIBLE— THAT 
GREAT  MASTER  IS  AND  SHALL  BE 
TRUTH. 

THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS 
FEARS  NO  FUTURE  REVELATIONS  OF 
SCIENCE  NOR  DEVELOPMENT  OF  RA- 
TIONALITY. TRUTH  IS  ITS  REFLEC- 
TION OF  THE  DIVINE  AND  TRUTH 
WILL  EVER  BE  ITS  SUPREME  GUIDE. 

"YOU  MUST  KNOW  THE  TRUTH  IF 
YOUR  SOULS  SHALL  BE  FREE." 

THE  END 


The  great  back  cover  of  the  book  was  wont  to 
swing  over  when  the  seven  readings  of  the  last 
page  were  completed  and  thus  close  the  volume, 
and  then  a  copy  of  the  whole  book  was  handed  to 
each  disciple. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  FINAL,  INSTRUCTION. 

WHEN  the  great  cover  of  the  Building  Book 
had  been  closed  and  the  disciples  had  fin- 
ished its  study  from  the  copies  furnished 
them,  there  remained  the  final  instruction  of  the 
Society  of  Progress  to  be  heard  from  the  lips  of 
the  Lesser  Master. 

Darwin  Snowson  always  made  the  last  mes- 
sage exaltedly  impressive. 

He  realized  that  each  of  the  disciples  would  be- 
come a  soldier  for  truth  in  a  warfare  against  the 
false,  a  soldier  for  spiritual  progress  in  a  warfare 
against  spiritual  degradation,  and  his  whole  being 
yearned  to  arouse  in  each  one  the  same  persistent 
soul  courage  which  imbued  the  Seven. 

That  he  succeeded  in  uniting  all  the  great  host 
in  supreme  devotion  to  the  Religion  of  Progress 
and  enlisted  them  as  one  great  force  in  the  spir- 
itual army  of  Human  Progress  are  now  well- 
known  facts. 

The  little  abstract  of  the  instruction  of  the  last 
degree  which  can  here  be  made  is  but  a  poor 
shadow  of  the  last  message  with  which  the  Beloved 

Philosopher  ended  the  work  of  the  Seven  Degrees. 

*      *      * 

The  opening  words  of  the  final  instruction 
were  these : 

"Brothers  and  Sisters  of  all  the  World:  Be- 
fore you  complete  your  study  of  the  most  vital 

472 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          473 

problems  of  human  life  which  has  occupied  you 
through  all  our  Degrees,  perhaps  our  Society  can 
bring  to  you  some  final  lessons  which  will  aid  you 
to  battle  in  spiritual  warfare  amongst  your  fellow 
men  in  upholding  right  and  truth  and  in  destroy- 
ing evil  and  error. 

"Yet,  in  your  approach  to  destroy  and  to  re- 
build we  must  beseech  you  to  remember  that 
Spiritual  Co-operation  with  each  individual  per- 
sonality you  approach  is  the  only  true  way  to  gain 
the  victory  for  progress. 

"Do  not  lose  yourselves  in  contentions  of 
words.  'Make  haste  slowly,'  for  by  spiritual  edu- 
cation alone  can  you  bring  the  enslaved  souls  of 
your  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  race  up  from  spir- 
itual bondage  into  comprehension  of  the  Divine 

Plan  and  all  it  means  for  humanity. ' ' 

#  *      * 

To  each  of  you  our  Society  now  gives  a  per- 
sonal message: 

Plant  your  feet  firmly  on  the  Upward  Way 
towards  the  Infinite  One. 

Be  resolved  that  you  will  ever  strive  to  attain 
the  serene,  broad,  intelligent  vision  of  the  Divine 
Plan,  which  you  must  acquire  if  you  are  to  be  a 
conscious  worker  with  God  in  uplifting  all  hu- 
manity. 

#  *      * 

Be  resolved,  too,  that  in  your  own  personality 
you  will  ever  seek  serenity,  honesty,  temperance, 
unselfishness,  spiritual  courage,  helpfulness,  loy- 
alty to  the  Plan,  devotion  to  the  work  of  spiritual 
co-operation  with  all  of  your  fellow  human  beings, 
willingness  to  make  personal  sacrifices  of  what- 


474  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

ever  nature  will  best  advance  the  object  of  the 
Plan  and,  above  all  and  through  all,  submerge 
your  personality  in  such  high  worship  of  the 
Maker  of  the  Plan  as  will  keep  you  as  near  true  to 
your  ideals  under  the  Plan  as  a  human  being  can 
attain.  We  must  progress  through  love  of  God 

and  not  through  fear  of  God. 

*  *       # 

STUDY  YOUR  OWN  PERSONALITY. 
Become  Spiritual  Master  of  your  own  brain. 
Become  Spiritual  Master  of  your  own  body. 

Become  Spiritual  Master  of  your  own  conduct. 

*  *      * 

Shun  anger  as  you  would  a  plague ; 

Shun  avarice  as  you  would  a  disease ; 

Shun  perverted  animalism  as  you  would  a  f  oul; 
loathsome  pit  of  corruption; 

Shun  cruelty  as  an  enemy  of  progress ; 

Shun  intolerance  as  the  handmaid  of  degenera- 
tion; 

Shun  those  pleasures  which  corrupt  the  soul ; 

Shun  all  things  wherein  your  personal  conduct 
may  retard  the  fulfillment  of  God's  Plan  or  drag 
your  own  personality  downward  in  the  Spiritual 

scale. 

*  #      * 

Remember  that  every  human  being  of  every 
race  and  color  is  your  spiritual  brother  or  sister 
under  the  Plan,  and  that  though  untold  millions 
have  evolved  so  slowly  along  the  Upward  Way, 
that  they  could  not  now  be  brought  to  any  fair 
vision  of  its  meaning,  yet  the  Religion  of  Progress 
necessarily  requires  that  never  ceasing  effort  shall 
be  made  under  strongest  organization  to  bring 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          475 

every  human  'being  into  spiritual  union  and  co- 
operation for  the  Spiritual  Uplift  of  the  whole 
race. 

Does  the  task  sound  impossible?  Do  not  be 
blind  to  the  power  of  God's  Process.  Nearly  half 
of  all  our  race  today  have  evolved  to  such  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  potentialities  that,  if  world- 
wide perfected  spiritual  organisations  were  ready, 
the  next  generation  could  be  brought  into  such  a 
state  of  Spiritual  Co-operation  that  war  would  be 
no  more  and  economic  brotherhood  would  be  solv- 
ing its  great  primary  problems. 

[Inserted  by  Darwin  Snowson.] 

"Remember  that  our  Society,  for  the  present, 
is  organized  for  a  local  mission,  and  that  when- 
ever the  proper  day  comes,  it  will  throw  off  its 
guard  of  secrecy  and  make  open,  spiritual  combat 
to  bring  more  and  more  of  all  classes  of  religion- 
ists into  the  Realm  of  Truth. 

"We  hope  to  see  our  Beloved  Philosopher  open 
a  world-wide  campaign  for  the  Religion  of  Prog- 
ress before  very  long,  but  our  principal  present 
task  is  to  redeem  Mormonism  from  its  ignorant 

faith/' 

*      *      * 

Great  fields  of  endeavor  are  open  now  for  in- 
telligent spiritual  action,  and  constantly  more  will 
open  up. 

Our  cities  must  be  transformed  so  that  slums 
and  breeding  spots  of  evil  shall  first  be  trans- 
muted to  decency  and  progress  and  thereafter 
made  impossible  of  origination. 

Do  you  deem  the  work  impossible  of  fulfill- 
ment? 


476  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  genius  which  has  organized  modern  in- 
dustry and  commerce  will  surely  fructify  in  won- 
derful spiritual  organizations  supremely  more 
powerful  than  the  institutions  of  evil  and  degen- 
eracy. 

Remember  that  a  thousand  failures  may  teach 
success. 

But  the  hope  and  sure  future  of  our  race  lies 
most  in  the  broad  vision  of  God's  Plan  for  Hu- 
manity, which  will  be  gained  by  education  of  the 
coming  generations  to  such  spiritual  knowledge 
and  strength  and  courage  that  the  recruits  of  vice 
and  degeneracy  will  be  few  and  will  find  against 
them  a  power  of  righteousness  which  will  over- 
whelm them. 

The  tasks  before  us  are  tremendous ;  the  spir- 
itual efforts  and  labor  involved  are  supremely  dif- 
ficult, but  the  impelling  power  of  the  Almighty 
working  in  the  souls  of  mankind  assures  the  ulti- 
mate victory  of  our  race. 

*      *      » 

We  must  study  diligently  the  imperfect  and 
unjust  systems  by  which  punishment  in  the  guise 
of  justice  is  meted  out  upon  so-called  criminals, 
even  in  the  most  enlightened  nations,  and  strive  to 
gain  for  our  defective  and  our  erring  brothers  of 
the  race  such  environment,  and  instruction,  and 
give  to  each  one  such  visions  of  race  unity  and 
brotherhood  and  worship  as  will  place  his  feet  on 
the  Upward  Way  and  insure  a  better  future  to 
him. 

Better  yet,  let  us  strive  persistently,  courage- 
ously, patiently  and  intelligently  to  gradually  re- 
organise the  general  human  outlook,  so  that  the 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          477 

"breeding  of  defectives  and  the  making  of  those 
who  transgress  human  justice  shall  be  minimized. 
That  this  will  require  new  visions  of  human 
justice,  broader  knowledge  of  our  own  personali- 
ties and  probably  new  institutions  of  remedial 
care  is  already  demonstrated  in  the  evolution  of 
some  experiments  now  under  way  in  our  nation. 


We  must  plan  and  organize  to  bring  oppor- 
tunity for  progress,  for  healthfulness,  and  for 
happiness  to  the  children  of  the  world  Who  are 
now  bound  by  the  chains  of  environment  to  toil 
and  hunger  and  ignorance. 

We  must  at  the  same  time  plan  and  organize  to 
bring  knowledge  of  the  great  truths  of  existence 
to  all  of  the  coming  generation,  and,  from  infancy, 
to  wisely  teach  them  that  they  are  not  only  the 
inheritors  of  the  Divine  Plan,  but  the  coming  Co- 
operators  in  hastening  its  fulfillment. 

So,  too,  for  all  who  will  hear  and  hearing  are 
willing  to  seek  truth  diligently,  we  must  plan  and 
organize  to  establish  knowledge  in  their  personali- 
ties and  join  them  in  Co-operation  with  us  to  fur- 
ther the  Divine  Plan. 


We  must  plan  and  organize  also  to  make  the 
daily  life  of  those  in  our  environment  in  city,  vil- 
lage and  country  purposeful,  sanely  joyous,  and 
mutually  helpful  so  that  they  will  join  with  us  and 
we  with  them  in  common  effort  to  make  progress 
to  better  conditions  of  living,  matters  of  constant 
study  and  definite  purpose. 


478  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Eemember,  Spiritual  Co-operation  is  the  great 
new  teaching  of  the  Religion  of  Progress,  and 
through  it  the  Divine  Plan  will  be  fulfilled. 

*  *      * 

Strive  to  make  every  home  a  germinating  place 
of  happiness  and  spiritual  effort. 

In  the  progress  of  humanity  along  the  Upward 
Way  certain  ideals  respecting  the  family  have 
grown  up,  and  despite  theorists  who  would  have 
the  state  wholly  substitute  its  care  and  control  for 
the  home  life,  it  is  not  conceivable  now  that  the 
uplifting  power  of  the  farthest  evolved  family 
life  will  be  abandoned  and  the  fatherhood  and 
motherhood  of  the  state  substituted. 

The  family  is  a  natural  unit  in  the  progress  of 

humanity. 

*  *      * 

Shall  We  give  you  a  present  ideal  of  the  rela- 
tions of  the  family  units  to  each  other  ? 

First.  In  the  home  between  all  its  members 
there  must  be  mutual  service,  mutual  unselfish 
love,  mutual  sympathy  and  patience,  and  mutual 
respect  for  the  personalities  of  each  other. 

Spiritual  co-operation  should  germinate  here 
and  strongest  tolerant  effort  should  be  exerted  by 
all  to  assist  in  gaining  it. 

*  *      * 

Second.  There  cannot  be  successful  spiritual 
co-operation  unless  from  the  day  of  marriage  the 
husband  becomes  the  real  companion  and  unselfish 
comrade  of  the  wife,  and  unless  the  wife  becomes 
an  equal  companion  and  unselfish  comrade  of  the 
husband  Each  in  self-sacrificing  love  and  for- 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          479 

bearance  must  help  the  other  to  conquer  the 
clashes  of  anger,  self-will,  pride  of  opinion  and 
degenerating  selfishness  of  appetite,  passion,  and 
habits  which  are  against  true  spiritual  co-opera- 
tion in  the  home  life. 

*  #      * 

Third.  Always  exhibit  toward  your  children 
great  patience,  great  effort  to  understand  and  to 
guide,  great  forbearance  with  what  you  deem  mis- 
conduct, and  bring  to  them  always  wise,  uplifting 
love. 

They  may  be  bearing  the  burden  of  inherit- 
ances, which  may  have  brought  direct  from  your- 
selves, tendencies  which  make  it  difficult  for  them 
to  grow  in  spirituality.  So  much  the  more  should 
you  forbear  and  forgive  and  strive  without  ceas- 
ing to  teach  them  to  overcome. 

Study  the  natures  of  your  children,  make  them 
your  trusted  companions  and  keep  fear  and  false- 
hood out  of  their  souls. 

Tour  ignorance  in  educating  them  may  be  the 
cause  of  what  you  think  is  bad  conduct. 

*  *       # 

Likewise,  if  you  find  physical  punishment  nec- 
essary to  discipline,  it  is  probably  your  ignorance 
of  the  way  to  reach  the  personality  of  your  own 
child  which  impels  you  to  punish. 

The  old  proverb, ' '  Spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the 
child, ' '  is  met  by  twentieth  century  mental  science 
with  the  statement,  that  the  rod  and  the  anger 
back  of  the  rod,  are  unspiritual,  and  that  most 
often  ignorant  brutality  wields  the  rod,  and  again 
the  failure  to  "know  thy  child"  leads  to  the  use  of 


480  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

the  rod  or  oilier  punishment  by  those  who  are  not 

inherently  brutal. 

*      *      * 

To  the  father  we  say,  "Make  the  study  of  your 
children's  personalities  as  vital  to  you  as  the 
study  of  your  business  affairs;"  and  to  the 
mother,  "Devote  as  much  time  to  understanding 
and  making  loving  friends  of  your  children  as  you 
do  to  social  and  household  affairs. ' ' 

Again  we  must  say:  "Be  wise  in  loving  your 
children.  Misdirected  parental  love  and  indul- 
gence leads  to  Soul  Malformation  of  the  children. 
Teach  them  unselfishness,  teach  them  loving  serv- 
ice, teach  them  self-denial,  teach  them  spiritual 
co-operation." 

*  #  0 

A  remarkable  religion  of  great  vitality  has 
grown  up  in  America  since  the  last  quarter  of  the 
nineteenth  century  began. 

During  that  time  the  appeal  to,  and  hold  of, 
Orthodox  Christianity  upon  the  average  educated 
person  has  been  weakening  greatly. 

The  Church  of  Christ,  Scientist,  or  Christian 
Science  Church,  has  demonstrated  a  vitality  in  its 
religious  teachings  which  not  only  has  daunted 
orthodoxy,  but  also  augurs  well  for  the  immediate 
success  of  the  Eeligion  of  Progress. 
»  *  # 

Yet  we  cannot  but  feel  that  the  undoubted  suc- 
cess that  this  religion  has  had  in  neutralizing 
physical  disorders  which  have  their  origin  in  con- 
ditions of  mental  strain  or  mental  disorder  or  in 
disturbances  of  the  nervous  system  and  their 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          481 

reflex  functional  diseases  is  not  due  at  all  to  some 

of  the  reasons  assigned  by  Christian  Scientists. 

*  *      * 

They  pick  and  choose  out  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment such  statements  of  miraculous  and  super- 
natural things  as  chime  in  with  the  theories  of 
Science  and  Health  and  then  BECAUSE  THEY 
ABE  USING  A  GREAT  LAW  OF  SPIRITUAL 
EVOLUTION  they  receive  its  benefits,  just  as  un- 
numbered hosts  of  worshipers  of  the  "Supreme 
Power"  have  unwittingly  used  the  same  great  law 
down  through  the  ages,  and  have  conquered  sim- 
ilar physical  and  mental  disorders,  though  they 
knew  nothing  of  the  law  itself. 

The  law  is  potent  even  though  those  who  use 

it  are  ignorant  of  its  existence. 

*  #      # 

Physicians  and  psychologists  call  it  the  law  of 
* '  Mental  Suggestion, ' '  but  we  conceive  that  Chris- 
tian Science  has  demonstrated  that  there  is  some- 
thing beyond  the  theories  of  medical  science, 
something  which  so  operates  upon  personality 
that  results  are  attained  which  mental  science,  as 
yet,  is  too  materialistic  to  rival  by  the  use  of  mere 

mental  suggestion. 

*  *      * 

We  conceive  that  the  law  gains  its  greatest 
effects  only  when,  either  through  dominating  sug- 
gestion of  another  to  receptive  personality,  or 
through  suggestion  to  one's  self  (auto-sugges- 
tion), there  is  a  surrender  of  personality  to  such 
exclusive  contemplation  of  the  Divine  that  ensu- 
ing for  get  fulness  of  self  and  all  physical  and 
mental  conditions  brings  the  spiritual  power  of 


482  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Divine  love  into  action,  and  thereupon  peace  and 
serenity  and  tranquillity  come  into  the  soul,  and 
then,  as  the  stream  flows  downward,  or  as  the 
operation  of  any  natural  law,  comes  the  restored 
nervous  system,  and  the  cure  of  functional  disor- 
ders. 

*  *      * 

We  probably  have  much  to  learn  about  this 
law  and  how  to  gain  its  greatest  usefulness,  but 
however  mistaken  some  of  their  reasons  for  using 
it,  we  must  thank  Christian  Scientists  for  its  pres- 
ent helpfulness  to  great  numbers  of  our  race. 

But  it  must  always  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
within  the  Great  Plan  the  physical  is  temporary 
and  subordinate;  that  the  spiritual  is  immortal 
and  supreme,  though  we  must  conclude  that  the 
physical  is  actual  and  belongs  within  the  plan. 

Yet  when  the  spiritual  dominates  personality 
then,  even  though  the  body  is  racked  with  pain, 

the  soul  may  remain  calm  and  serene. 

*  *      * 

The  whole  world  is  our  field  and  every  human 
personality  the  object  of  the  plan. 

Where  unenlightened  nations  and  men  have 
taken  warfare  and  cruelty  and  injustice  and  op- 
pression, we  will  take  peace  and  liberty  and  spirit- 
ual love  and  true  spiritual  co-operation. 

We  will  find  ways  and  means  to  reach  all  the 
ignorant  and  unspiritual  brothers  and  sisters  of 
our  race  and  to  tell  them  that,  within  the  great 
Plan,  God  wishes  them  to  climb  upward  in  knowl- 
edge, and  spirituality,  and  that  we  wish  to 
spiritually  co-operate  with  them  and  have  them 
co-operate  with  us  to  uplift  all  humanity. 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          483 

In  the  beginning  we  must  put  our  spiritual 
arms  beneath  the  ignorant  and  untaught  and  help 
them  in  wise  ways  to  acquire  spiritual  knowledge 
which  will  make  them  helpful  co-operators  in  the 

great  work. 

*  *       * 

We  must  ever  be  ready  to  learn  truth  and 
assimilate  it  in  the  ways  of  progress. 

We  need  to  learn  ways  and  means. 

We  need  to  unite  unselfishness  and  supreme  in- 
dividual effort  with  the  great  power  of  effective 
organization. 

We  must  learn  that  not  by  impatience  or  intol- 
erance, or  by  lack  of  great  human  sympathy,  can 
we  gain  new  disciples  to  the  coming  days  of  co- 
operation, but  by  first  convincing  them  that  we  are 
truth  seekers  who  wish  to  bring  new  knowledge  of 
the  real  facts  of  human  history  and  destiny  to 
them,  we  can  perhaps  gradually  win  their  desire  to 
spiritually  co-operate  with  all  the  world  under  the 

Divine  Plan. 

*  *       * 

We  must  seek  wisely,  diligently,  and  not  too 
hastily,  to  organize  such  powerful  worldwide  edu- 
cational campaigns  and  forces  as  are  necessary  to 
destroy  or  transform  such  existing  institutions 
and  customs  as  tend  to  degrade  any  of  our  spirit- 
ual brothers  and  sisters,  or  to  restrict  human 
liberty,  or  to  impede  human  progress. 

Divine  Love  has  been  working  to  this  end, 
within  the  Great  Plan,  but  we  must  now  con- 
sciously assist. 


484  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

Here  the  instruction  apparently  took  up  sev- 
eral matters  which  the  Beloved  Philosopher  felt 
would  be  encountered  by  the  disciples  in  the  bat- 
tles for  truth. 

First  was  discussed  a  question  with  which 
every  seeker  of  truth  is  ultimately  confronted  if 
his  search  be  both  honest  and  intelligent. 

To  what  ultimate  end  or  to  what  good  purpose 
within  the  Divine  Plan  have  been  all  the  dangers 
and  calamities  of  life  which  mankind  has  endured 
in  the  countless  ages  of  his  upward  spiritual  jour- 
ney? 

Why  the  earthquakes,  the  tornadoes,  the  toll  of 
the  ocean,  the  toll  of  accident,  the  toll  of  famine, 
the  toll  of  pestilence,  and  the  supreme  toll  of  phys- 
ical death  of  all  embodied  personalities  of  every 
generation  within  a  comparatively  few  years  of 
birth? 

The  answer  chimes  with  the  history  of  our 
race. 

That  man  should  win  his  way  upward,  and  not 
remain  a  brute. 

That  man  should  be  obliged  to  struggle  against 
adverse  conditions,  and  because  of  the  call  on 
brain  and  soul  he  should  develop  mentally  and 
spiritually. 

That  man  should  fulfill  the  Divine  Plan. 

It  is  one  great  lesson  of  spiritual  evolution 
that  out  of  the  struggles  of  humanity  have  grown 
the  virtues  of  humanity. 

And  it  seems  demonstrable  that,  without  all 
the  struggling  and  pain  and  sorrow,  the  divine 
heritage  of  moral  freedom  most  probably  would 
have  made  all  mankind  degraded  sensualists, 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          485 

while  because  of  tine  calamities  and  struggles  we 
are  climbing  the  upward  pathway  towards  God. 

*  *      * 

Secondly,  the  special  instruction  took  up  a  sub- 
ject of  much  interest  to  the  disciples.  It  began 
with  the  broad  statement : 

THE  RELIGION  OF  PROGRESS  DENIES 
ALL  SUPERSTITION. 

As  a  survival  of  untold  centuries  of  ignorance 
of  the  fact  that  everything  in  the  universe  has  al- 
ways and  now  is  proceeding  under  natural  laws, 
we  all  have  remnants  of  superstition  lurking  in 
our  brains. 

"Lucky  signs"  and  "unlucky  signs,"  "lucky 
numbers '  '  and  * '  unlucky  numbers, "  ' '  lucky  stars ' ' 
and  "unlucky  stars,"  "lucky  positions  of  the 
moon"  and  "unlucky  positions  of  the  moon," 
"charms"  and  "good  luck"  from  possession  of 
inanimate  objects,  and  a  thousand  other  supersti- 
tions pervade  the  uneducated  brains  of  most  of 
the  human  race  and  the  educated  has,  each,  his  pet 
superstition. 

THEY  ARE  ALL  FOUNDED  UPON  UN- 
TRUTH AND  OFTEN  MAKE  UNHAPPY 
THOSE  WHO  BELIEVE  IN  THEM. 

*  *      * 

Science  laughs  at  the  absurd  theories  and  pre- 
dictions of  astrologers. 

It  is  untrue,  wholly  unfounded  in  fact,  essen- 
tially ridiculous  and  in  some  phases  actually 
malignant  to  assert  that  the  position  of  the  stars 
determines  to  any  extent  or  degree  whatever  the 
pareer,  fortune,  or  fate  of  any  mortal. 


486  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"The  stars  in  their  courses"  did  not  fight 
"against  Sisera,"  nor  did  any  traveling  star  wend 
its  way  to  a  point  over  the  cradle  of  Buddha,  any 
more  than  the  fictitious  "Star  of  Bethlehem"  did 

like  service  over  the  cradle  of  Jesus. 

*       *       * 

Science  has  another  excitation  of  risibility 
over  the  idea  that  the  number  thirteen  is  an  "un- 
lucky number,"  and  equally  ridiculous  is  the  idea 
that  the  number  seven  is  a  "lucky"  number. 

NUMBERS  HAVE  NO  FUNCTION  OF 
FATE. 

Because  a  dinner  party  of  "thirteen"  during 
the  year  which  follows  it  may  lose  one  or  more  of 
its  members  by  death  it  is  by  the  foolish  and  ig- 
norant looked  upon  as  a  "sign"  that  one  of  the 
number  will  always  die  when  a  dinner  party  is 
composed  of  thirteen  members. 

It  is  absolutely  untrue  that  a  death  will  neces- 
sarily folloiv. 

The  death  of  a  member  may  follow,  but  so  may 
the  death  of  a  member  of  a  dinner  party  of  twelve 
or  ten. 

A  dinner  party  of  fourteen  is  more  certain  to 
lose  one  of  its  members  by  death  within  the  en- 
suing year  than  is  a  dinner  party  of  thirteen; 
while  a  dinner  party  of  thirty-three  is  more  than 
two  and  a  half  times  as  certain  to  lose  one  of  its 
members. 

A  dinner  party  of  two,  four  or  six  very  fre- 
quently loses  a  member  by  death  within  the  next 
year,  but  this  is  no  "sign"  that  another  dinner 
party  of  like  numbers  will  lose  a  member  by  death 
within  a  year  or  within  ten  years. 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          487 

IN  A  REALM  OF  LAW,  SUPERSTITION  IS 
MENTAL  DEGRADATION,  AND  ALL  HU- 
MANITY LIVES  WITHIN  A  REALM  OF 
LAW. 


Third,  the  disciples  were  prepared  so  that  they 
might  answer  a  question  which  it  was  apparent 
would  be  asked  by  many  after  the  sacredness  of 
the  Ten  Commandments  and  of  the  whole  Bible 
had  been  confuted  because  they  dishonor  God. 

You  will  be  asked,  "What  about  Sunday?" 

Tell  those  who  ask  that  many  centuries  before 
Moses  is  reported  to  have  received  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments and  long  before  Abraham  is  said  to 
have  founded  the  Jewish  race,  The  Akkads  had 
worked  out  the  idea  of  a  periodic  "day  of  rest," 
and  it  is  clear  that  the  Jews  borrowed  this  idea 
from  them,  for  the  Akkads  had  made  the  day  of 
rest  one  day  in  seven. 

Tell  them,  too,  that  it  is  very  possible  that  when 
the  reorganization  of  society  into  that  condition 
of  spiritual  co-operation  which  means  economic 
brotherhood  has  arrived,  that  it  will  be  found  that 
one  day  in  six,  or  one  day  in  five,  or  even  one  day 
in  four,  may  be  made  a  day  of  rest  and  of  sane 
enjoyment  and  of  education  in  the  laws  of  prog- 
ress and  of  special  acts  of  spiritual  co-operation 
and  (in  common  with  all  the  other  days)  of  true 
uplifted  worship  of  God. 

It  will  not  be  the  day  of  the  "elect"  or  the 
"redeemed"  or  the  "saved."  It  will  be  the  day 
for  all  the  race  to  specially  seek  for  the  advance* 
ment  of  all  the  race. 


488  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

It  will  not  be  the  awful  Mosaic  Sabbath  which 
stoned  to  death  the  man  who  gathered  sticks  for 
his  fire,  and  it  will  not  be  the  Puritanic  Sunday 
which  stifled  innocent  elemental  human  desires 
and  repressed  the  joyousness  of  childhood. 

It  will  not  rest  on  a  command  of  God,  but  on 
the  free  choice  of  humanity  because  it  is  best  for 
humanity  within  the  Divine  Plan. 


The  closing  words  of  the  instruction  in  the 
Chamber  of  the  Eeligion  of  Progress  were  these : 

"Finally,  Disciples  of  Progress,  our  Society 
asks  that  always  you  shall  keep  in  strong  remem- 
brance the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Religion 
of  Progress. 

"I.  That  manifested  in  the  universe  and  in 
the  unfolding  of  all  things  is  the  Infinite  One,  our 
God,  and  that  by  honest,  reverent  research  we 
have  been  able  to  learn  much  truth  respecting  our 
true  place  in  the  universe. 

"II.  That  amidst  the  courses  of  evolution 
there  is  clearly  discernible  a  Divine  Plan  under 
which  all  the  race  of  mankind  on  earth  has 
evolved,  and  is  now  evolving,  and  will  hereafter 
evolve. 

"III.  That,  as  part  of  the  Universal  Plan, 
God  rules  all  humanity  by  absolutely  impartial 
laws  of  physical  and  spiritual  growth  and  prog- 
ress, and  never  by  direct  act  interferes  with  the 
course  of  nature  or  with  human  destiny. 


THE  FINAL  INSTRUCTION          489 

"IV.  That  it  is  not  in  the  past  that  the  Divine 
Plan  culminated  in  the  supreme  atonement,  but 
that  ever  since  human  personality  capable  of 
moral  conduct  first  evolved  on  earth,  our  race 
has  participated  in  a  struggle  towards  righteous- 
ness and  has  been,  and  is,  and  ever  will  be,  climb- 
ing the  Upward  Way  towards  God. 

"That  the  destiny  of  our  race  upon  the  earth  is 
a  high  one  and  will  ever  more  closely  approach 
the  best  ideals. 

"V.  That  worship  of  God  is  a  necessity  of 
the  fulfillment  of  the  Plan  and  our  worship  must 
accord  with  truth,  and  truth  compels  the  finite  to 
hold  only  the  highest  concepts  of  the  Infinite  One. 
That  we  must  not  clothe  God  with  human  at- 
tributes, nor  accuse  Him  of  exhibiting  human 
passions. 

"VI.  That  within  the  Plan,  Divine  Love,  su- 
premely above  even  the  highest  responsive  love 
of  the  best  human  personalities,  is  ever  active  for 
the  uplifting  of  humanity  to  higher  spirituality 
and  that  God's  love  is  the  impelling  power  which 
has  decreed  that  moral  freedom  shall  not  be  an 
endowment  of  permanent  degradation. 

"VII.  That  the  Divine  Plan  is  universal  in 
its  power  and  its  great  purpose.  That  it  knows  no 
*  saved,'  nor  any  'redeemed,'  nor  any  *  elect.' 

"That  it  comprehends  on  earth  the  spiritual 
progress  of  every  human  being  and  that  it  would 
seem  most  futile  did  it  not  also  comprehend  a 
future  for  the  continued  spiritual  progress  of 
every  human  personality  after  the  portals  of 
physical  death  have  released  personality  to  the 


490  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

new  life  in  the  plane  of  existence  beyond  the 
eternal  stop  of  the  physical  machine. 

"IX.  That  the  Religion  of  Progress  opens 
wide  to  you  all  of  the  realm  of  truth  and  whether 
the  general  teachings  of  our  society  are  broad 
enough  to  comprehend  all  that  is  involved  within 
the  great  Plan,  it  matters  not,  for  you  can  garner 
into  your  comprehension  of  the  Religion  of  Truth 
whatever  you  deem  actual  Truth. 

"X.  As  the  last  admonition,  we  must  impress 
upon  you  that  the  lesson  of  all  psychic  evolution 
is  that  only  through  'the  exercise  of  intelligence 
and  will  guided  by  sound  principles  of  investiga- 
tion and  ORGANIZED  IN  COMMON  EFFORT » 
can  we  make  the  progress  in  spiritual  co-operation 
which  the  Divine  Plan  contemplates. 

"THEREFORE  ORGANIZE  FOR  THE  UP- 
LIFT OF  ALL  THE  RACE  AND  FOR  SPIR- 
ITUAL CO-OPERATION  WITH  ALL  HUMAN 

BEINGS. " 

*      #      * 

It  was  thus  the  instruction  of  the  Society  ended 
and  thus  the  Seven  Degrees  within  the  Seven 
Chambers  completed  the  Realm  of  Truth. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

A  CONFERENCE  REVELATION. 

EARLY  IN  APRIL,  193—,  the  Semi-Annual 
Conference  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  the  Latter  Day  Saints  had  brought  to 
"Zion"  a  great  multitude  of  the  "Saints." 

Amongst  the  faithful  " brethren"  in  all  Utah 
and  even  in  densely  Mormon  Southern  Idaho  and 
in  Western  Wyoming  and  Eastern  Nevada,  there 
had  been  growing  a  deep  unrest  and  fear  of  im- 
pending disaster  to  the  boasted  solidarity  of  the 
church. 

At  first  a  few,  then  increasing  numbers  of  the 
strongest  and  best  in  the  communities,  had  made 
mysterious  journeys  to  Salt  Lake  City,  with  the 
result  that  not  only  did  they  quit  paying  tithing, 
but  also  they  ceased  to  attend  the  "Meeting 
House"  services  and  took  their  children  out  of 
the  Mormon  Sunday  Schools. 

The  "counsel"  of  the  Bishop  was  scorned  and 
these  new  apostates  laughed  at  the  threats  of  busi- 
ness ostracism  which  of  yore  had  been  the  most 
powerful  weapon  of  the  Church. 

Strange  rumors  added  to  the  distressful  condi- 
tion and  even  the  visits  of  high  ecclesiasts  failed 
either  to  stem  the  growing  tide  of  desertions  or  to 
reveal  the  source  of  the  antagonistic  power  which 
was  dealing  such  deadly  blows  to  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  power  of  "Zion." 

491 


492  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

The  "Orator  of  the  Church"  vainly  proclaimed 
that  the  Spirit  of  Antichrist  was  amongst  the  Mor- 
mon people,  and  though  he  thundered  prophecies 
of  destruction  and  desolation  to  the  apostates,  an 
observer  would  have  noted  only  smiling  disbelief 
in  the  faces  of  those  who  continued  to  dare  the 
wrath  of  the  Church. 

It  gradually  filtered  through  to  the  First  Presi- 
dency and  the  Twelve  Apostles  that  these  apos- 
tates were  talking  strange  doctrines  and  that  their 
teachings  appealed  powerfully  to  the  best  edu- 
cated and  the  strongest  minds  in  the  communities. 

Dread  of  the  truths  revealed  by  Science  had 
long  secretly  troubled  the  leaders  of  the  Church. 

They  had  even  permitted  educated  sophists 
amongst  the  Elders  to  preach  in  the  Tabernacles 
false  reconciliations  between  the  church  doctrines 
and  the  ideas  of  human  progress  which  were  per- 
meating the  nation. 

But  now  the  best  brains  of  Mormondom  paid 
no  heed  to  these  self-serving  sophists,  and  daring 
challenges  of  the  truth  of  the  Book  of  Mormons 
The  Doctrines  and  Covenants  and  even  the  Bible 
had  arisen  with  growing  frequency  and  become 
wide-spread  throughout  the  strongholds  of  the 
Mormon  faith. 

Yet  the  Church  knew  not  that  an  organization 
to  match  its  own  remarkably  effective  one  had 
grown  up  in  "Zion"  and  reached  far  out  into  the 
"Stakes"  remote  from  the  "Central  Stake." 

Thousands  of  the  "Saints,"  as  they  journeyed 
to  the  Conference,  had  noted  with  intense  curios- 
ity that  many  of  the  apostates  journeyed  also  to 
Salt  Lake  City. 


A  CONFERENCE  REVELATION      493 

Eagerly  comparing  notes,  the  faithful  became 
aware  that  from  the  North  and  the  South  and 
from  the  East  and  the  West  each  group  of  the 
"brethren"  was  matched  by  substantially  an 
equal  number  of  those  who  had  so  recently  dis- 
carded the  Mormon  faith,  but  the  mission  of  these 
estranged  ones  was  a  deep  mystery  to  the  "breth- 
ren." 

A  sense  of  expectancy  approaching  fear  began 
to  spread  amongst  the  devotees  of  the  religion 
which  had  so  long  held  dominant  sway  in  Utah. 

They  glimpsed  dimly  the  foreshadowing  doom 
of  the  Church  into  which  they  were  born. 

Had  they  known  that  immediately  the  enemy 
they  dreaded  would  be  aided  greatly  by  a  doc- 
trinal explosion  within  the  very  sanctuary  of  their 
Church  they  might  well  have  looked  forward  with 
fearful  souls  to  the  impending  Conference. 

The  President  of  the  Church  at  this  time  was  a 
comparatively  young  man. 

By  a  strange  record  of  fatalities  the  member- 
ship of  the  Twelve  Apostles  within  fifteen  years 
had  wholly  changed,  and  the  President  was  one 
who  had  been  appointed  an  Apostle  at  the  April 
Conference  just  fifteen  years  before,  and  had  be- 
come President  only  one  year  previous  to  the  pres- 
ent gathering  of  the  "Saints." 

Strong,  vigorous,  animalistic,  he  had  lost  his 
legal  wife  in  child-birth  a  year  before  and  the 
polygamous  wife  he  had  taken  when  younger,  in 
accord  with  the  presumed  unwritten  Church  Law 
that  Apostles  must  obey  the  polygamous  revela- 
tion, had  proven  a  "thorn  in  his  flesh,"  being  a 
very  shrew  in  her  distasteful  demands  upon  him. 


494  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Thrown  suddenly  into  the  supreme  ecclesias- 
tical position  in  the  Church,  for  a  time  his  passions 
were  held  in  abeyance,  but  when  the  whirligig  of 
Church  promotion  had  brought  that  degenerate 
anaemic  scion  of  the  Most  Royal  Family  of  Mor- 
mondom,  Joseph  Henry  Smith,  into  the  ranks  of 
the  Twelve  Apostles,  destiny  brought  to  the  reign- 
ing "Prophet,  Seer  and  Revelator"  the  tempta- 
tion which  not  only  hurled  dread  doom  upon  him 
and  another,  but  which  also  split  wide,  into  irre- 
concilable factions,  the  Church  which  he  had  dom- 
inated. 

Julina  Blyman  Smith  had  been  peculiarly  un- 
happy in  the  marriage  thrust  upon  her  by  her 
mother. 

Her  husband,  the  young  apostle,  was  wholly 
unfitted  to  respond  to  a  nature  like  hers. 

Full  blooded,  passionate  and  swayed  by 
strange  moods,  she  still  clung  to  the  Faith  which 
cast  religious  sanctity  around  her  polygamous 
birth. 

Always  despising  her  husband,  it  occurred  that 
she  was  quickly  thrown  constantly  into  social  and 
church  relations  with  the  new  President  of  the 
church,  and  ere  long  she  realized  that  her  whole 
being  was  going  out  in  a  flood  of  passion  towards 
this  forbidden  man. 

Simultaneously  she  became  aware  that  pas- 
sionate regard  leaped  towards  her  from  the  eyes 
of  this  highest  ruler  of  her  church. 

Was  it  a  sub-conscious  remembrance  of  her 
half-brother,  Darwin  Snowson,  which  withheld  her 
from  carnal  sin  ? 


A  CONFERENCE  REVELATION      495 

The  night  before  the  opening  day  of  the  fateful 
conference,  within  the  secret  precincts  of  the  Tem- 
ple, by  chance  the  Prophet  and  the  Apostle's  wife 
were  left  alone  in  a  luxurious  room. 

A  climax  impended. 

The  dark  beauty  of  Julina  maddened  the  pas- 
sionate man  and  with  hurried  burning  words  his 
illicit  love  was  confessed. 

It  was  then  that  some  invisible  power  seemed 
to  dominate  Julina  and  from  that  moment  link  by 
link  the  chain  was  forged  which  dragged  the 
twain  towards  the  spiritual  bondage  which  irre- 
trievably joined  their  earthly  fates. 

Yearning  to  yield,  but  held  back  strangely  by 
something  she  could  not  define,  Julina  was  im- 
pelled by  mysterious  power  which  possessed  her 
to  say  to  the  lover  who  had  sought  her  surrender : 

4 '  Oh !  I  cannot  yield  now.  My  heart  responds 
to  every  throb  of  yours,  but  a  power  I  can't  resist 
holds  me  back  and  seems  to  say  to  me,  *  Wait — the 
way  will  be  shown. ' 

Then  to  the  amazement,  and  even  terror,  of  her 
watching  lover  she  sank  backward  in  the  easy 
chair  she  was  occupying  and  her  eyes  became 
strangely  fixed  in  an  unseeing  stare  which  looked 
past  the  alarmed  ecclesiast  as  though  probing 
depths  which  neither  walls  nor  space  could  bound. 

Suddenly  the  young  woman  began  to  speak 
and  the  so-called  "Prophet"  realized  that  for  the 
first  time  in  his  experience  he  was  encountering 
what  his  Church  believed  in — "the  spirit  of 
prophecy,  continuing  down  to  the  latter  days." 

"Yea,  Lord — I  am  Miriam,  the  prophetess,  the 
sister  of  thy  servant  Aaron.  I  sang  to  thee  when 


496  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

thou  broughtest  the  children  of  Israel  through  the 
Red  Sea  and  overwhelmed  the  base  Egyptians. 

"Yea,  Lord,  I  will  listen  unto  thee  and  heed 
thy  voice. 

* '  Thou  sayest  that  on  the  morrow  in  the  Taber- 
nacle I  must  go  into  the  highest  pulpit  and  there 
deliver  to  thy  chosen  people,  the  Latter  Day 
Saints,  the  message  that  thou  wilt  put  into  my 
mouth,  and  that  thereby  that  which  would  be  sin 
will  become  righteous. 

"Yea,  Lord,  I  will  do  as  thou  hast  said." 

Fascinated  beyond  measure,  the  leader  of  the 
"Saints"  had  listened  breathlessly  to  the  words 
which  came  without  apparent  volition  from  the 
lips  of  the  beautiful  woman. 

As  the  last  words  penetrated  his  startled  ears 
his  blood  surged  strongly  through  his  body,  as  he 
realized  that  the  way  to  gain  the  object  of  his  pas- 
sion was  promised  in  this  "revelation." 

He  cared  not  that  the  unwritten  rule  of  the 
Church  that  no  woman  should  occupy  the  pulpit 
of  the  Tabernacle  at  Conference  must  be  broken, 
nor  did  he  question  that  the  message  of  the  Lord 
would  be  given  through  this  wonderful  creature 
who  had  received  the  instruction  of  the  Almighty. 

Slowly  becoming  conscious,  Julina  found  her 
lover  vigorously  chafing  her  hands,  and  sitting  up- 
right she  asked  him  what  had  happened. 

When  she  heard  the  words  she  had  spoken  in 
her  trance  she  went  into  a  mood  resembling  ec- 
stacy,  which  clung  to  her  even  in  her  sleep  that 
night,  and  which  enwrapped  her  face  and  whole 
personality  on  the  morrow  when  she  heard  the 
President  of  the  Church,  amid  profoundest  silence, 


A  CONFERENCE  REVELATION      497 

solemnly  admonish  his  astounded  hearers  at  the 
Tabernacle  service  that  an  essential  part  of  their 
creed  was  that  revelations  and  prophecies  from 
God  had  not  ceased. 

Then  he  told  them  that  one  who,  it  had  been 
revealed,  was  the  re-incarnation  of  Miriam,  the 
Prophetess,  had  been  directed  by  God  in  a  vision 
while  she  was  within  the  sacred  precincts  of  their 
Holy  Temple,  to  deliver  to  them  a  revelation 
which  God  would  put  into  her  mouth  when  she 
had  climbed  to  the  highest  pulpit. 

Slowly,  Julina  Blyman  Smith,  to  the  amaze- 
ment of  her  husband  and  of  all  who  knew  her, 
with  stately  steps,  mounted  the  several  platforms 
of  the  Tabernacle  pulpits  and  took  her  place, 
standing  upright  in  the  highest  of  all  the  pulpits. 

Silence  profound  reigned  amidst  the  assembled 
Saints,  the  greatest  number  which  had  ever 
crowded  into  the  huge  Tabernacle  being  witnesses 
of  the  entirely  unparalleled  scene  enacted  before 
their  astounded  eyes. 

Then  came  the  fateful  message  which  split  the 
Mormon  Church  into  warring  factions  and  which 
greatly  aided  the  work  of  the  Society  of  Progress. 

With  eyes  apparently  fixed  on  the  huge  turtle- 
back  ceiling  of  the  low,  oddly-constructed  build- 
ing which  since  Brigham  Young's  day  has  been 
the  chief  public  house  of  worship  of  the  Mormons, 
Julina  began  to  speak  in  a  rich  penetrating  voice 
which  reached  beyond  those  seated  to  the  farthest 
ranks  of  the  standing  " Saints." 

The  air  of  ecstacy  which  had  impressed  the 
dullest,  suddenly  roused  feelings  of  awe  in  her 


498  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

hearers   as   her   opening   words   reached  them, 
spoken  in  slow,  measured  tones. 

"Yea,  Lord  God  of  our  holy  faith — I  will  be 
thy  messenger  to  deliver  thy  words  to  thy  chosen 
people,  even  as  of  old  I  was  thy  Prophetess." 

A  pause,  and  the  silence  which  had  prevailed 
before,  by  comparison,  seemed  almost  vibrant  with 
sound,  so  deep  was  now  the  absolute  stillness  of 
the  vast  throng. 

Then,  in  like  full  tones  and  measured  words, 
came  the  revelation. 

'  *  Thus  saith  the  Lord :  Hearken,  0,  ye  elders 
of  my  church,  and  ye,  my  chosen  people,  who  have 
assembled  yourselves  together  in  my  name.  I  say 
unto  you,  hearken,  and  hear,  and  obey  the  law 
which  I  shall  give  unto  you. 

' '  Verily,  did  not  I  give  unto  my  people  through 
my  servant,  Joseph  Smith  Jun.,  the  Seer,  at  one 
time  this  law:  'Thou  shalt  love  thy  wife  with  all 
thy  heart  and  shalt  cleave  unto  her  and  none  else, ' 
and  verily,  I  say  unto  you  that  this  law  was  just 
and  right  for  the  times  and  seasons. 

"Verily,  did  I  not  thereafter  change  this  law 
and  reveal  unto  my  well-beloved  Joseph,  the  Seer, 
while  yet  he  lived  and  could  heed  my  law,  a  'new 
and  everlasting  covenant.' 

"And  verily,  did  I  not  thereby  disclose  to  you 
'how  you  could  know  and  understand  wherein  I, 
the  Lord,  justified  my  servants,  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob,  as  also  Moses,  David  and  Solomon,  my 
servants,  as  touching  the  principle  of  and  doc- 
trine of  their  having  many  wives  and  concu- 
bines."* 


A  CONFERENCE  REVELATION      499 

"Verily,  did  I  not  then  reveal  unto  you  this 
1  law  of  the  Priesthood':  'If  any  man  espouse  a 
virgin  and  desire  to  espouse  another,  and  the  first 
give  her  consent;  and  if  he  espouse  the  second  and 
they  are  virgins,  and  have  vowed  to  no  other  man, 
then  is  he  justified;  he  cannot  commit  adultery, 
for  they  are  given  unto  him ;  for  he  cannot  commit 
adultery  with  that  that  belongeth  unto  him  and  no 
one  else.* 

"  'And  if  he  have  ten  virgins  given  unto  him 
by  this  law,  he  cannot  commit  adultery,  for  they 
belong  to  him  and  they  are  given  unto  him,  there- 
fore is  he  justified.* 

"  'And  again,  verily,-  did  I  not  then  say  unto 
you:  "And  now  as  pertaining  to  this  law,  verily, 
verily  I  say  unto  you  I  will  reveal  more  unto  you 
hereafter,  therefore  let  this  suffice  for  the  pres- 
ent." '* 

"Now,  therefore,  hearken  ye  unto  my  words 
spoken  through  my  servant,  Miriam,  who  sang  a 
song  unto  me  when  I  delivered  the  children  of 
Israel  from  the  Egyptians  and  who  has  become 
flesh  again  that  you  may  be  instructed. 

"Verily,  I  say  unto  you  that  times  and  seasons 
have  changed  again  and  the  law  of  the  Priesthood 
shall  now  be  more  revealed,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

"The  cry  of  my  daughters  of  Zion  have  come 
up  unto  me  and  behold  I  reveal  to  you  yet  another 
thing  respecting  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant 
which  I  revealed  to  Joseph  Smith,  Jun.,  the  Seer. 

"Behold  is  there  not  a  Mother  in  Heaven,  as 
ye  have  taught,  and  behold  did  I  not  reveal  my 

*Quoted  from  the  Mormon  Book  of  Revelations,  "Doc- 
trines and  Covenants." 


500  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

new  and  everlasting  covenant  so  that  in  the  glory 
of  heaven  there  '  shall  be  a  fullness  and  a  continua- 
tion of  the  seeds  for  ever  and  ever?'* 

"Verily,  did  I  not  reveal  that  those  who  fol- 
lowed my  law  of  the  Priesthood  and  espoused  vir- 
gins, whether  they  espoused  two  or  ten,  shall  be 
Gods  in  heaven?* 

"Now,  therefore,  so  be  it,  how  can  my  law  be 
fulfilled  if  one  of  my  daughters  be  espoused  unto 
one  who  is  impotent  or  if  she  being  fertile  shall 
not  be  ministered  unto  as  my  law  demands'? 

"Behold,  then,  thus  it  shall  be,  saith  the  Lord: 

"If  any  of  my  daughters  of  my  people  shall  be 
unequally  yoked  in  marriage  with  one  who  cannot 
fulfill  my  law,  then  she  cannot  commit  adultery 
if  she  espouse  another  who  will  fulfill  my  law  and 
make  her  to  bear  children  unto  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  continued  strength  of  my  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  the  Latter  Day  Saints.  For,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you  that  my  law  is  supreme. 

"Verily,  also,  saith  the  Lord:  'If  one  of  my 
daughters  shall  have  ten  men  given  unto  her  by 
this  law,  she  shall  not  commit  adultery,  for  by  my 
law  shall  she  be  justified. ' 

"Let  this  suffice  for  the  present:  Behold  I  am 
Alpha  and  Omega.  Amen." 

As  her  voice  ceased,  Julina  turned  and  with 
stately  steps  walked  down  and  backward  through 
a  pulpit  entrance-way  and  soon  was  hidden  from 
the  fixed  gaze  of  the  multitude. 

Both  the  weakling  Apostle,  her  legal  husband, 
and  the  President  of  the  Church  fully  realized  that 
now  no  church  barrier  stood  between  her  and  the 

""Doctrines  and  Covenants." 


A  CONFERENCE  REVELATION      501 

passion-dominated  union  to  which  the  new  revela- 
tion brought  the  sanction  of  their  God. 

Then  the  President,  with  calmness  and  dignity, 
called  upon  the  great  choir  to  sing  the  famous 
Mormon  hymn,  "Oh,  My  Father,"  and  when  the 
singing  had  ended  he  quickly  dismissed  the  great 
assemblage. 

Babel  broke  loose  when  the  multitude  thronged 
out  of  the  numerous  doors  of  the  elliptical  Taber- 
nacle. A  thousand  bitter  battles  of  words  were 
begun,  for  the  astounding  proceedings  within  the 
building  set  talking  even  the  most  subservient. 

In  the  dusk  of  that  day  Julina  and  her  lover 
met  in  the  same  secret  room  in  the  Temple  where 
the  drama  of  the  new  revelation  had  begun. 

Overpowered  with  his  great  passion,  the  Presi- 
dent little  recked  the  ecclesiastical  storm  which 
was  breaking  amongst  his  people. 

An  elder,  who  sycophantically  professed  ad- 
miration and  devotion  for  his  leader,  quickly  per- 
formed a  hastily  devised  ceremony  of  "sealing" 
under  the  new  revelation,  and  then  Julina  and  her 
lover  betook  themselves  to  the  upper  stories  of  the 
massive  structure,  where  secret  chambers  richly 
furnished  were  at  the  command  of  the  highest 
ecclesiasts. 

A  hundredth  wave  of  destiny  was  sweeping 
towards  the  city  of  the  great  salt  sea  and  its  sub- 
merging depths  and  overwhelming  power  were 
bringing  a  strange  decree  of  fate  upon  the  Mor- 
mon people,  which  also  would  engulf  in  helpless- 
ness the  two  who  dreamed  only  of  their  passion- 
mated  love. 


CHAPTEE  XXXV. 

FIRST  CONVOCATION  OF  THE  SOCIETY  OF  PROGRESS. 

WITH  complete  secrecy,  Darwin  Snowson, 
the  Lesser  Master  of  the  Society  of  Prog- 
ress, had  summoned  to  a  great  Convoca- 
tion at  Salt  Lake  City  -every  disciple  of  the 
Society  who  could  possibly  make  the  journey. 

Purposely  he  had  selected  the  week  of  the  Mor- 
mon Spring  Conference  as  the  time  when  the 
disciples  should  meet. 

After  many  consultations  within  the  Chamber 
of  Council,  the  Seven  had  determined  to  submit  to 
the  Convocation  a  plan  for  open  public  warfare  in 
every  hamlet,  village  and  city  in  Mormondom  to 
bring  the  great  principles  of  the  Religion  of  Prog- 
ress into  direct  strong  conflict  with  th^  weakening 
power  of  the  Mormon  Church. 

That,  incidentally,  conflict  would  also  come 
against  the  Methodist,  the  Catholic,  the  Presby- 
terian, the  Baptist  and  every  other  church  of 
orthodoxy  did  not  daunt  the  champions  of  Truth. 

In  Utah  their  great  enemy  was  Mormonism, 
but  even  then  the  world  campaign  was  being 
planned  and  the  treasure  box  was  still  amply  filled 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  greater  warfare. 

On  the  day  of  destiny,  whilst  the  Mormon  Con- 
ference was  listening  to  the  fateful  new  revelation, 
elsewhere  in  the  city,  in  the  huge  Convention  Hall 
in  which  many  national  organizations  had  held 
their  annual  meetings,  the  disciples  of  the  Society 

502 


FIRST  CONVOCATION  OF  SOCIETY  503 

of  Progress  were  assembled  in  a  multitude  which 
rivaled  completely  the  great  gathering  in  the 
Tabernacle. 

Welcoming  Darwin  Snowson,  much  beloved  by 
ail  disciples,  with  an  ovation,  which  was  electrical 
in  its  acclaim,  by  thousands  of  sincere  expressions 
of  affection,  the  assembled  believers  of  the  Re- 
ligion of  Progress  awaited  the  explanation  of 
their  call  to  the  convocation. 

It  was  noted  by  all  that  the  Lesser  Master  bore 
on  his  countenance  an  unwonted  look  which  after- 
wards the  Seven  knew  was  the  serenity  of  a  great 
renunciation.  That  the  usual  nobility  of  his  bear- 
ing was  materially  added  to,  all  who  loved  him 
perceived. 

Surrounded  on  the  platform  by  the  Seven  and 
the  Forty -nine,  in  words  of  fervent  spiritual  elo- 
quence, strong  and  convincing,  the  Lesser  Master 
laid  before  the  followers  of  the  Society  the  plans 
which  the  Seven,  with  the  concurrence  and  assist- 
ance of  the  Forty-nine,  had  devised  for  open  war- 
fare for  the  new  religion,  to  be  waged  all  over 
Mormondom,  and  in  concluding  he  asked  them  to 
counsel  amongst  themselves  so  that  they  might  all 
freely  vote  their  convictions  upon  the  plans. 

As  he  finished,  disciple  turned  to  disciple  all 
over  the  great  hall,  and  in  true  conference  the 
great  throng  animatedly  discussed  the  wisdom  of 
the  plans. 

The  inspiration  of  the  great  work  already  ac- 
complished and  a  realization  for  the  first  time  of 
the  wonderful  progress  which  had  been  made  by 
the  Society  in  joining  together  all  the  strong,  reso- 


504  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

lute,  intelligent  persons  who  were  there  assembled 
and  the  power  they  could  jointly  wield,  came  to  all 
with  great  force. 

It  was  Talmadge  Penrose  who  first  sprang  to 
his  feet  from  where  he  had  sat  near  the  platform, 
and,  after  silence  was  restored,  briefly  and  earn- 
estly voiced  the  desire  of  every  disciple  in  his 
vicinity  to  commence  at  once  the  great  spiritual 
battles. 

In  instant  response,  Moses  Trustell,  soon  to  be 
the  first  martyr  of  the  Religion  of  Progress,  in  few 
words,  confessed  his  original  doubts  of  the  Society 
and  its  aims,  and  then  expressed  the  wish  of  all 
who  surrounded  him  to  begin  the  great  work 
which  had  been  planned. 

Next,  from  the  center  of  the  great  throng,  up 
rose  Mollie  Richards,  who,  amongst  the  Sisters  of 
Progress,  held  the  love  and  confidence  of  all,  and 
speaking  for  a  great  group  of  women  seated  in  her 
vicinity,  in  beautifully  chosen  phrases  hailed  with 
joy  the  opportunity  to  openly  appeal  to  Mormon 
womanhood. 

A  climax  of  fervor  and  enthusiasm  swept 
through  the  disciples  when  Mabel  Smith  stepped 
to  the  platform  and,  with  her  wonderful  voice, 
sang,  for  the  first  time  it  had  been  heard  in  public, 
the  soul-stirring  "Hymn  of  Human  Progress,'* 
which  since  that  day  has  been  the  rallying  song 
of  the  Society. 

As  the  noble,  inspiring  words  of  this  great  song 
rang  through  the  vast  hall  in  matchless  musical 
adaptation,  the  glow  of  spiritual  exaltation  which 
leaped  into  the  faces  of  the  assemblage  was  so 
noticeable  that  the  Lesser  Master  sprang  to  his 


FIRST  CONVOCATION  OF  SOCIETY  505 

feet  and,  with  a  single  gesture,  waved  the  great 
throng  to  a  standing  posture  while  the  song  was 
repeated. 

This  hymn,  written  by  Hon  Taylor  and  set  to 
music  by  Robert  Young  and  Marie  Templeton,  was 
a  complete  surprise  to  Darwin  Snowson  and  to  all 
else  save  these  three  and  the  fair  singer  and  Nephi 
Woodruff,  who  had  formed  a  little  plan  to  test  its 
power  at  the  great  convocation. 

As  the  singer  depicted  the  march  of  humanity 
from  lowliness  and  ignorance  along  the  Upward 
Way  towards  the  Infinite  One,  and  then  voiced  the 
prophecy  of  better  and  forever  better  days  to 
come,  and  of  higher  and  holier  concepts  of  God 
sure  to  be  revealed  as  growth  in  spirituality  in- 
creased amongst  men,  and  ended  with  the  pledge 
of  service  and  high  devotion  to  the  cause  of  con- 
sciously carrying  out  God's  Great  Plan,  each  disci- 
ple realized  that  the  day  had  dawned  when  their 
beloved  Society  must  largely  surrender  its 
guarded  secrecy  and  boldly  battle  for  Truth  and 
better  Righteousness  in  the  haunts  of  men. 

With  one  acclaim  the  disciples  approved  the 
plan  which  had  been  submitted  to  them  and  with- 
out forewarning  of  the  fate-laden  hours  which 
remained  of  that  day,  with  high  resolves  they  joy- 
ously scattered  to  meet  again  on  the  morrow. 

The  Wasatch  mountains  towered  majestically 
to  the  southeast  of  them  and  the  great  snow-cov- 
ered caps  scarce  showed  the  coming  ravages  of  the 
summer  sun. 

Not  one  of  the  bitter  contentious  throng  which 
poured  from  the  Tabernacle  that  afternoon,  nor 
one  of  the  exalted  peaceful  multitude  which 


506  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

surged  from  the  Convocation  of  the  Society  of 
Progress,  dreamed  that  the  glorious  peaceful 
mountains  held  then  within  their  extended  foot- 
hills at  the  north  side  of  the  city  a  secret  of  mo- 
mentous import  to  them  all. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

A  RENUNCIATION. 

THREE  days  before  the  first  great  Convoca- 
tion of  the  Society  of  Progress,  Darwin 
Snowson  received  a  letter  from  Eleanor 
Stanwood — "Aunt  Eleanor" — which  brought  to 
him  a  test  of  character  which  was  wholly  unex- 
pected by  him. 

In  relatively  frequent  correspondence  with 
Faith  Winthrop,  he  had  been  elated  to  find  that 
not  only  was  she  deeply  interested  in  the  success- 
ful work  of  the  Society  of  Progress,  but  often- 
times the  personal  note  of  her  letters  seemed  even 
more  than  warm  friendship. 

He  had  clung  religiously  to  the  advice  of  Aunt 
Eleanor,  to  await  full  success  of  the  plan  to  redeem 
the  Mormon  people  from  spiritual  bondage,  before 
confessing  his  love  to  the  fair,  sweet,  young  wo- 
man whose  personality  had  forever  charmed  his 
heart. 

The  Beloved  Philosopher  had  gone  to  Capitol- 
ton  some  months  before  and  had  met  Aunt  Eleanor 
and  Faith  and  Naomi  Snowson. 

Darwin  was  not  surprised  to  receive  letters 
from  each  of  the  three  praising  in  highest  terms 
the  man  whose  genius  had  planned  the  vital  work 
of  the  Society  of  Progress. 

Nor  did  much  surprise  come  to  him  wher  he 
learned,  once  from  Aunt  Eleanor  and  once  from 
Faith  Winthrop,  that  his  almost  revered  friend 

507 


508  THE  HUNDKEDTH  WAVE 

had  twice  revisited  the  beautiful  city  to  which 
Darwin's  heart  ever  turned. 

Not  until  he  read  the  fateful  letter  from  Aunt 
Eleanor  did  Darwin  recall  the  language  in  which 
Faith  had  told  of  the  third  visit  of  the  Beloved 
Philosopher. 

"I  think  he  is  the  most  remarkable  man  I  ever 
met  and  it  is  not  strange  that  the  Seven  gave  great 
affection  to  him.  I'm  sure  he  inspires  love  and 
confidence.  I  wonder  if  he  has  ever  given  his 
heart's  devotion  to  any  woman.  Would  it  not  be 
well  worth  winning?" 

When  a  strong,  morally  decent  man  loves  a 
woman  and  desires  her  for  his  life's  companion 
and  comrade,  to  give  up  all  hope  of  the  fulfillment 
of  his  desire  and  to  realize  that  another,  no  matter 
though  it  be  a  loved  friend,  will  gain  the  object 
of  his  devotion,  makes  a  storm  of  emotions  in- 
evitable. 

So  it  was  that  Darwin  Snowson  for  a  time  was 
cast  into  a  whirlpool  of  desolation  when  he  read 
these  words  in  Aunt  Eleanor's  letter: 

"Now,  Darwin,  perhaps  I  am  not  the  one  to 
write  you  about  something  which  has  happened 
in  which  you  are  vitally  interested. 

"I  hesitate,  and  yet  I  feel  that  you  ought  to  be 
prepared. 

11  It's  a  state  secret  and  perhaps  another  should 
reveal  it,  but  my  affection  for  you  since  your  baby- 
hood impels  me  to  give  you  a  hint. 

"Did  it  ever  occur  to  you  that  your  Beloved 
Philosopher  might  be  human  enough  to  want  a 
mate? 


A  EENUNCIATION  509 

' '  Suppose  lie  has  found  one  and  she  should  be 
one  who  has  your  love  and  devotion;  would  you 
be  able  to  readjust  your  life  to  such  a  condition?" 

Darwin  knew  instantly  that  Aunt  Eleanor 
wished  to  prepare  him  for  the  announcement  that 
Faith  Winthrop  and  the  Beloved  Philosopher 
were  betrothed. 

With  stricken  heart,  he  paced  the  floor  of  his 
living  room  as  the  darkness  of  despairing  love 
overwhelmed  him,  then,  unable  to  stand  the  con- 
fines of  four  walls,  he  strode  out  into  the  night  and 
unconsciously  directed  his  steps  towards  that  foot- 
hill peak  which  lies  back  of  the  beautiful  State 
Capitol,  and  is  known  as  Ensign  Peak. 

The  tumult  of  his  emotions  made  him  oblivious 
to  his  surroundings  until  suddenly  he  realized  that 
he  was  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  great  flagpole 
which  towers  from  the  summit  of  the  little  peak. 

Surprised  into  consciousness  of  his  where- 
abouts, the  surging  of  his  heart  lessened,  as  he 
gazed  upon  a  dream-like  panorama  unfolded  in 
the  glistening  beams  of  the  brightly  shining  moon. 

In  the  foreground  a  myriad  of  star-like  lights 
glittered  o'er  the  wide-spread  city.  It  was  fairy- 
land to  an  appreciative  eye. 

To  the  southeastward  the  snow-topped  Wa- 
satch  mountains  towered  high,  while  to  the  south- 
westward,  across  the  Salt  Lake  Valley,  the 
Oquirrh  range,  in  lesser  majesty,  added  grandeur 
to  the  scene,  and  miles  to  the  westward  the  Great 
Salt  Lake  gave  a  shining  background  to  the  dark, 
low-lying  lands  through  which  threads  of  silver 
evidenced  the  streams  and  canals  which  traverse 
them. 


510  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

As  Darwin  gazed  he  finally  lifted  high  his  head 
and  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  North  Star,  as  had  the 
Beloved  Philosopher  that  memorable  night  in  the 
Glen  when  the  Seven  had  listened  to  the  inspiring 
words  which  gave  birth  to  their  great  Society. 

Into  his  heart  crept  that  consolation  which  al- 
ways comes  to  one  who  occupies  his  thoughts  with 
contemplation  of  the  wonders  of  the  Universe  and 
still  more  with  yearnings  for  the  Eternal  Light  to 
reflect  glimpses  of  the  Infinite  One  within  his  soul. 

Calmer  throbbed  the  arteries  which  had  almost 
choked  him  in  the  first  surgings  of  despair ;  calmer 
grew  the  wild  thoughts  which  gave  unreason  sway 
over  his  being;  calmer  became  the  soul  which  had 
felt  the  breaking  asunder  of  the  beautiful  cords  of 
love  which  had  entwined  it. 

High  resolve  at  last  came  into  his  very  being. 
To  renounce  dreams  of  mated  happiness  and  to 
wed  himself  in  strong  endeavor  and  never-ceasing 
diligence  to  the  world-wide  expansion  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Progress  seemed  to  him  his  destined  fate, 
and,  crowding  back  the  feelings  of  hopelessness 
which  had  possessed  him,  with  head  erect,  he 
strode  back  to  his  apartments. 

When  once  more  in  the  familiar  quarters,  he 
quickly  wrote  Aunt  Eleanor  a  reply  to  her  letter 
and  in  response  to  the  secret  she  had  revealed  he 
said: 

"I  read  with  much  surprise  the  strong  hints 
you  gave  me  regarding  the  *  secret '  which  involves 
our  Beloved  Philosopher. 

"You,  of  all  the  world,  have  known  of  my 
cherished  dreams  and  I  can  tell  you  how  the  tum- 
bling of  my  aircastles  has  torn  my  heart. 


A  RENUNCIATION  511 

"But  my  most  cherished  friend  must  also  know 
that  out  of  the  agony  of  despair  I  have  emerged 
without  bitterness. 

"My  work  in  the  broadening  field  of  our 
Society  will  be  my  bride  henceforth,  and  with  sin- 
cerity, dear  Aunt  Eleanor,  I  can  ask,  if  the  be- 
trothal of  our  Beloved  Philosopher  and  Faith  is 
now  announced,  that  you  shall  give  to  them  my 
heartfelt  and  sincere  congratulations.  No  better 
or  finer  couple  could  be  mated. ' ' 

After  mailing  his  letter,  Darwin  retired,  only 
to  find  restless  wakefulness  for  a  long  time. 

When  at  last  he  fell  into  a  fitful  slumber  his 
sub-conscious  self  surged  into  his  being  a  dream 
of  Faith,  who  seemed  to  have  belonged  to  him, 
then,  for  reason  unknown,  to  have  been  dragged 
from  his  arms  by  an  unseen,  irresistible  force. 

As  she  drifted  beyond  his  reach,  with  a  loud 
cry  he  stretched  out  his  arms  to  her,  only  to 
awaken  and  again  feel  for  a  little  while  the  agony 
of  an  uncontrolled  heart,  until,  gaining  quicker 
control  of  his  feelings,  he  sank  into  a  profound 
slumber  to  awaken  late  in  the  morning  with  the 
plan  of  his  great  Convocation  to  occupy  him 
entirely. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE  SLIP  OF  THE  WASATCH  FAULT. 

THE  great  crowds  which  debouched  from  the 
Temple  Block  on  that  April  day  surged 
down  Main  Street  and  were  met  by  the 
many  thousands  who  swarmed  from  Convention 
Hall. 

The  disciples  of  the  Society  of  Progress  soon 
scented  the  mental  electricity  flashing  both  in 
earnestness  and  in  anger  between  the  ' '  brethren, ' 9 
and  large  groups  gathered  about  the  newspaper 
offices,  where  bulletined  in  black  display  type  was 
the  astounding  news  that  a  new  " revelation" 
sanctioning  Polyandry  had  been  delivered  at  the 
Tabernacle. 

A  hundred  darting  newsboys  soon  flashed  up 
and  down  the  street  with  ''Extras,"  which  gave 
the  " revelation"  in  full,  and  which  were  eagerly 
seized  by  the  throngs  who  packed  the  sidewalks 
so  closely  that  they  almost  were  blocked. 

That  night  the  city  literally  seethed  with  dis- 
cussion of  the  tremendously  vital  proceedings  at 
the  Mormon  Tabernacle. 

The  Gentiles,  who  in  1905  began  to  outnumber 
the  Mormons  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  now  exceeded 
them  three  to  one,  universally  recognized  that  out 
of  the  turmoil  which  would  follow  this  strange 
conference  day  the  weakening  of  the  power  of  the 
Church  must  be  great. 

512 


SLIP  OF  THE  WASATCH  FAULT    513 

The  Church  had  always  maintained  the  "reve- 
lation" concerning  polygamy  as  a  true  revelation 
of  God,  but,  nominally,  had  "suspended"  it,  but 
now  this  strange  new  "revelation"  not  only  es- 
tablished the  startling  principle  of  many  husbands 
for  one  wife,  but  apparently  affirmed  anew  the 
former  "revelation"  of  many  wives  for  one  hus- 
band. 

That  night  a  crowd  which  rivaled  the  gather- 
ing which  almost  suspends  traffic  on  the  broad 
downtown  streets  on  the  night  of  a  presidential 
election,  massed  upon  Main  and  State  Streets  and 
the  east  and  west  streets  for  several  blocks  south 
of  the  Temple. 

Thousands  marched  past  the  office  buildings  of 
the  Church  westward  of  the  famous  Bee  Hive 
House  and  the  equally  famous  Lion  House,  struc- 
tures which  had  for  so  many  years  given  historical 
humility  to  the  official  residences  of  the  presidents 
of  the  Church,  although  the  wealth  of  the  hier- 
archy was  notorious. 

Not  a  light  showed  even  in  the  President's 
home,  the  Bee  Hive  House. 

The  varied  comment  of  the  spectators  would 
have  revealed  to  the  Church  President,  had  he 
been  able  to  hear  it,  a  strange  consensus  of  opin- 
ion that  the  future  held  dire  disaster  for  the  or- 
ganization which  had  been  so  powerful. 

The  psychic  wave  which  had  drawn  the  multi- 
tude together  suddenly  received  a  strange  acces- 
sion. 

The  forces  of  nature  began  to  take  part  in  the 
determining  destiny  of  that  day. 


514  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

A  great  wind  sprang  out  of  a  cloudless  sky  and 
for  a  few  minutes  played  havoc  with  the  head 
coverings  and  clothing  of  the  masses  on  the 
streets.  Then  it  died  out  as  suddenly  as  it  had 
arisen. 

One  said  afterwards  that  the  air  was  so  filled 
with  ozone  and  electricity  from  the  onrush  of  the 
great  mountain  gale  as  to  create  the  mental  sug- 
gestion of  some  strange  impending  event. 

Others,  less  philosophical,  told  of  wierd  fore- 
bodings which  possessed  the  multitudes  as  the 
dense  silence  which  momentarily  followed  the  tur- 
moil of  the  blasts  presaged  something  unknown, 
to  follow. 

The  most  terrible  of  all  earthly  catastrophes 
impended. 

First  the  silence  gave  way  to  a  wierd,  inde- 
scribable earth  moan  which  chilled  the  hearts 
of  all. 

Then  the  ground  beneath  the  feet  of  those  who 
stood  anywhere  within  the  city  or  its  environs 
suddenly  began  to  rock  violently,  and  sickening 
sensations  of  the  approaching  end  of  all  things 
produced  great  fear  and  wild  panic  generally 
throughout  the  thronging  masses  downtown. 

The  crash  of  falling  chimneys  and  a  final  great 
shock,  which  brought  thousands  to  their  knees  in 
helpless  appeal  to  one  who  seemed  to  be  sending 
death  and  disaster  broadcast  o'er  the  beautiful 
city,  were  instant  with  a  heavy  roar  and  a  greater 
crash  to  the  northward,  and  then  the  earthquake 
ceased. 


SLIP  OF  THE  WASATCH  FAULT    515 

Slowly,  prostrate  Mormon  and  Gentile  lifted 
their  heads  and  gazed  about  them  with  fearstruck 
eyes. 

Wonderingly,  they  noted  that  at  frequent  in- 
tervals throughout  the  masses  who  had  fallen  on 
their  knees  to  pray,  groups  and  individuals  were 
standing  upright  with  fearless  faces  and  high  up- 
lifted arms. 

Afterward  many  of  them  were  to  learn  that  the 
posture  was  the  Invocation  attitude  of  the  Re- 
ligion of  Progress  adopted  by  the  Society  of 
Progress. 

They  were  to  learn,  too,  that  it  was  not  a  ges- 
ture of  entreaty  for  divine  assistance  to  stay 
impending  wrath  or  divine  judgment,  but  was  an 
exemplification  of  that  far  higher  faith  which  ac- 
cepts the  results  of  natural  phenomena  as  mere 
incidents  of  human  existence,  and  not  to  be 
weighed  in  fear  by  spiritual  personalities. 

That  serenity  and  fearlessness  united  in  the 
souls  of  those  who  adhered  to  this  new  religion 
and  lofty  worship  of  God  ever  guided  them 
gradually  in  later  days  filtered  through  the  con- 
sciousness of  many  a  spectator  who  could  not 
understand  that  terrible  night  how  any  could  fail 
to  pray  to  God. 

First,  a  few,  then  more  and  more  of  the  pros- 
trate suppliants  arose  to  their  feet,  and  as  the  min- 
utes lengthened  without  the  now  firm  earth 
becoming  again  unstable,  very  gradually  the 
throng  began  to  move  about. 

Rumors  of  disasters,  unparalleled  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  city,  began  to  fly  thick  and  fast. 


516  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Here  a  huge  crack  in  the  outer  walls  of  a  build- 
ing and  there  a  mass  of  fallen  bricks  or  stones  in 
alleys  and  along  the  streets  told  of  material  dam- 
age, and  pitying  groups  of  terrified  spectators 
here  and  there  gathered  where  human  life  and 
limb  had  yielded  toll  to  the  descending  debris. 

Suddenly,  from  mouth  to  mouth,  in  swiftest 
dissemination,  spread  the  report  that  the  Mormon 
Temple  was  destroyed. 

In  irresistible  streams  from  all  quarters  flowed 
the  living  tide  towards  the  high-walled  Temple 
Block. 

Many  had  been  in  the  vicinity  when  the  dread 
quake  had  happened  and  soon  the  neighborhood 
was  densely  packed  and  still  thousands  pressed 
forward  to  learn  the  truth. 

The  blazing  bee-hive  of  electric  lights  which 
crowned  a  hostelry  across  the  street  from  the 
Temple  had  not  been  extinguished  by  the  heaving 
earth,  and  in  its  radiant  glow,  aided  by  street 
lights,  the  first  who  had  turned  their  eyes  towards 
the  Temple  realized  that  the  heavy  roar  and  great 
crash  which  accompanied  the  powerful  final  shock 
were  caused  by  the  practical  ruin  of  the  thick- 
walled  granite  structure,  which  had  found  its 
boasted  strength  but  fragile  brittleness  against 
the  mighty  forces  of  nature. 

Eent  in  twain,  with  a  huge  gap  many  feet  wide 
separating  the  west  part  of  the  structure  from  the 
east  part,  all  could  see  that  the  eastern  turrets  of 
the  Temple  were  mostly  destroyed  and  the  tow- 
ering gilded  statue  of  the  " Angel  Moroni"  was 
gone  into  the  ruins,  while  great  fissures  ran  here 
and  there  throughout  the  parts  still  standing. 


SLIP  OF  THE  WASATCH  FAULT    517 

Again  and  again,  echoed  unnumbered  times, 
permeating  to  the  farthest  limits  of  the  on-coming 
thousands,  was  heard  the  expression,  "It  is  the 
judgment  of  God,"  and  all  knew  that  the  "revela- 
tion'* was  deemed  the  cause  of  this  destructive 
judgment. 

Through  debris-choked  gaps  in  the  high  stone 
wall  which  had  guarded  the  Temple  grounds,  a 
few  venturesome  persons  had  climbed  for  closer 
scrutiny,  only  to  return  and  warn  the  massed 
thousands  that,  if  another  earthquake  shock 
should  come,  death  would  be  imminent  for  all  who 
stood  near  the  ruined  walls  of  the  Temple. 

It  was  Robert  Young  who  turned  the  tide  of 
humanity  northward  past  the  Temple  Block  and 
then  to  the  east  and  the  west. 

One  of  the  few  who  entered  through  the  wall, 
he  quickly  realized  that  danger  impended  if  the 
multitude  did  not  disperse,  and,  ere  he  sprang 
downward  from  the  wall,  he  raised  his  powerful 
tall  figure  to  its  greatest  height  and  in  a  voice 
which  penetrated  far  he  called  for  silence. 

His  commanding  attitude  and  outstretched 
hands  soon  caused  comparative  quiet  to  prevail, 
and  then,  in  strong,  well-chosen  words,  he  told  his 
hearers  that  the  Temple  could  not  be  explored 
with  safety  that  night  and  that  unless  a  worse 
shock  occurred  they  could  all  see  it  better  on  the 
morrow. 

Then  he  added  only  a  word  or  two,  but  the 
effect  was  magical. 

"Will  it  not  be  well,  my  friends,  for  each  of 
you  to  go  quickly  to  his  own  home  and  ascertain 
whether  those  you  love  are  safe  and  protected?" 


518  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

The  mass  is  swayed  by  psychic  impulses  which 
momentarily  drown  out  reflection.  The  reported 
destruction  of  the  Temple  had  absorbed  the 
thoughts  of  all. 

The  magical  word,  "home,"  now  caused  in- 
stant resolution  to  go  there  to  dominate  the  hearts 
of  the  vast  throng. 

Eobert  motioned  those  near  him  to  go  north- 
ward and  soon  the  great  streams  which  had  flowed 
towards  the  Temple  grounds  were  turned  into  a 
myriad  of  little  rivulets  hastening  towards  the 
homes,  in  some  of  which  grief  and  despair  were 
awaiting  the  coming  of  the  members  of  the  family 
who  had  been  absent. 

Some  would  not  know  the  fate  of  loved  ones 
until  the  morrow,  while  others  would  rejoice  that 
none  of  their  dear  ones  was  a  victim  of  the  earth- 
quake. 

At  midnight  in  the  Chamber  of  Council  the 
Seven  had  gathered  without  preconcerted  plan. 

Instinctively  they  had  sought  the  room  where 
they  were  wont  to  meet  for  consultation. 

The  earthquake  and  its  effects  were  uppermost 
in  their  minds. 

After  a  while  the  talk  crystallized  into  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  oft-repeated  statement  that  it  was 
"a  judgment  of  God"  which  had  caused  the  earth- 
quake. 

Then,  it  was  quickly  resolved,  that  a  public 
meeting  should  be  called  for  the  next  afternoon 
and  that  Darwin  Snowson  should  deliver  an  ad- 
dress upon  the  subject,  "Was  the  Earthquake  a 
Judgment  of  God?" 


SLIP  OF  THE  WASATCH  FAULT    519 

If  the  Seven  had  been  gifted  with  foreknowl- 
edge of  the  events  of  the  next  day,  does  any  reader 
think  that  one  of  them  would  have  sought  to 
change  this  plan? 

The  great  hundredth  wave  of  destiny  had  not 
spent  its  force,  as  Darwin  Snowson  and  his  de- 
voted friends  were  fated  to  learn. 

Yet  he  who  reads  has  little  heeded  what  has 
been  told  in  this  book  if  he  thinks  that  the  "Lesser 
Master"  or  one  of  his  associates,  had  he  known 
the  full  force  of  the  great  wave,  would  have  varied 
one  iota  in  the  plan  to  make  the  earthquake  a 
great  object  lesson  to  the  whole  city,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  grandly  start  the  open  warfare  for 
the  Keligion  of  Progress  under  circumstances 
which  would  echo  the  words  of  soul  freedom  far 
and  wide. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE  CREST  OF  THE  WAVE. 

THE  night  of  the  earthquake  a  strong  cordon 
of  police  finally  had  been  placed  around  the 
Temple  Block  within  its  outer  walls. 

It  had  been  discovered  that  the  Tabernacle,  as 
well  as  the  Temple,  had  been  made  unsafe  by  the 
tremendous  shock  which  seemingly  had  centered 
destruction  within  the  square  which  contained  the 
greatest  buildings  of  worship  of  the  Church. 

In  the  black,  clouded  night  which  followed,  not 
even  venturesome  newspaper  reporters  cared  to 
risk  the  danger  involved  in  a  search  of  the  Temple. 

The  rising  sun  of  the  next  day  found  hundreds 
already  gathered  to  view  the  scene  of  destruction. 

Many  leading  church  officials  huddled  in  low- 
voiced  conference,  weighing  the  risks  of  entering 
the  Temple. 

In  whispers  it  was  told  that  the  President  of 
the  Church  had  not  been  seen  since  the  great 
catastrophe. 

A  shout  startled  the  knot  of  ecclesiasts  who 
were  thus  assembled.  They  saw  the  spectators 
gazing  and  pointing  upward  towards  the  top  of 
the  huge  rent  which  had  been  torn  completely 
through  the  structure  from  foundation  to  roof. 

The  figure  of  a  man,  standing  as  if  rooted  on  a 
segment  of  the  floor  of  the  upper  story,  had  silhou- 
etted against  the  morning  sky. 

520 


THE  CREST  OF  THE  WAVE         521 

Galvanized  into  action,  he  pointed  inward  to- 
wards the  remnant  of  the  room  in  which  he  stood 
and  so  suggestive  was  his  gesture  the  rapidly 
increasing  crowd  stood  horrified,  for  each  on- 
looker knew  that  a  tragedy  must  lie  concealed 
from  his  view,  but  seen  by  the  solitary  watcher  on 
high. 

After  pointing  downward  towards  a  little  in- 
significant structure  several  score  yards  from  the 
Temple  walls,  the  daring  climber  disappeared 
from  view  and  after  a  few  minutes  some  who  had 
caught  the  significance  of  the  gesture,  saw  Moses 
Trustell  emerge  from  the  apparently  disconnected 
little  building. 

In  few  words  the  great  tragedy  of  Nature's 
convulsion  was  revealed  to  the  captain  of  the 
police  and  the  bystanders. 

With  bated  breath,  Trustell  told  that  there  was 
a  secret  underground  passage  leading  from  the 
little  structure  to  a  likewise  secret  little  stairway 
which  gave  access  through  masked  doors  to  the 
several  floors  of  the  Temple. 

Years  before  he  had  been  one  of  four  or  five 
only  who  knew  of  the  passage  and  the  stairway 
and  had  retained  a  key  which  opened  all  portals 
of  the  secret  way. 

Not  explaining  why  he  deemed  it  urgent  to 
risk  his  life  in  the  ruins,  he  told  of  a  perilous  climb 
to  the  top  story  of  the  Temple  and  that  there  lying 
dead,  upon  a  regal  bed,  which  was  crushed  to  the 
floor,  were  the  President  of  the  Church  and  Julina 
Blyman  Smith,  and  across  their  bodies  in  glitter- 
ing splendor  lay  the  gilded  statue  of  the  "Angel 
Moroni" — the  trumpeting  angel — which  had 


522  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

adorned  the  topmost  eastern  pinnacle  of  the 
Temple. 

Was  the  earthquake  a  judgment  of  God  ? 

Joseph  Henry  Smith  whispered  with  impotent 
rage  that  God  had  revenged  a  wronged  apostle. 

The  orthodox  ministers,  with  one  exception,  a 
Methodist  pastor,  solemnly  pronounced  the  death 
of  the  twain  in  the  Temple  the  direct  act  of  God 
in  punishment  of  a  blasphemous  desecration  of 
His  holy  name. 

The  rank  and  file  of  the  Mormon  people  were 
hopelessly  divided  in  opinion. 

One  devout  segment  maintained  that  the  "  rev- 
elation" was  from  God  and  that  He  had  made  a 
way  for  the  President  and  his  companion  to  be 
joined  "for  all  eternity,"  and  then  had  honored 
them  by  taking  them  direct  to  Him,  where,  as 
gods,  they  would  reign  in  " celestial  glory;"  while 
another  vast  segment  began  the  march  to  apostasy 
by  denying  the  "revelation"  and  asserting  that 
God  had  sent  his  judgment  to  show  His  disap- 
proval. 

In  the  meantime,  Darwin  Snowson  had  not 
spoken. 

The  morning  papers  in  their  last  editions 
briefly  told  the  facts  of  the  tragedy,  and  in  broad- 
spread  advertisements  announced  the  address  by 
Darwin  Snowson  to  be  delivered  that  afternoon  at 
Convention  Hall,  and  asked  Mormon  Conference 
visitors  to  attend  and  hear  what  science  had  to  say 
upon  the  all-absorbing  question:  "Was  the  Earth- 
quake a  Judgment  of  God?" 

The  huge  auditorium,  endowed  with  wonderful 
acoustic  properties,  had  been  planned  so  that  by 


THE  CREST  OF  THE  WAVE         523 

the  use  of  audiphones,  audiences  in  three  sep- 
arate smaller  halls  within  the  huge  structure, 
could  clearly  hear  an  address  delivered  in  the 
main  hall. 

The  Seven  had  arranged  that  members  of  the 
Society  of  Progress,  with  few  exceptions,  should 
occupy  the  smaller  halls,  so  that  the  expected  mul- 
titude of  Mormon  Conference  visitors  and  resi- 
dents of  the  city  who  were  not  affiliated  with  the 
Society  of  Progress  should  face  the  "Lesser  Mas- 
ter" and  listen  directly  to  his  address. 

It  was  3  o'clock  when  Darwin  Snowson  arose 
to  begin  that  wonderful  sermon  of  science  which 
has  not  yet  ceased  to  echo  in  educating  power,  not 
only  to  the  farthest  hamlets  of  Mormonism,  but 
far  beyond. 

Packed  to  its  utmost  capacity  it  was  estimated 
that  more  people,  thrice  over,  than  ever  jammed 
the  Mormon  Tabernacle  were  eagerly  awaiting 
new  light  on  the  stunning  series  of  events  which 
had  bewildered  the  populace. 

Darwin's  resonant  voice  failed  not  in  power 
during  the  hour  and  a  half  he  held  spellbound  the 
absorbed  audience. 

His  first  words  chained  their  attention  and 
from  then  on  scarce  a  sound  save  his  voice  was 
heard  in  the  great  auditorium. 

"The  earthquake  of  last  night  killed  my  half 
sister,  Julina  Blyman  Smith.  Shall  I  say  that  it 
was  the  judgment  of  God  upon  one  whom  I  believe 
to  have  been  entirely  deluded  in  respect  to  receiv- 
ing a  revelation  from  God  ? 

"Wait,  I  pray  you,  wait — your  answer  may  be 
far  wrong. 


524  THE  HUNDEEDTH  WAVE 

"The  earthquake  last  night  killed  the  little 
daughter  of  a  Methodist  clergyman,  a  sweet,  pure, 
innocent  child. 

' '  Shall  I  say  that  it  was  the  judgment  of  God  ? 
Does  her  orthodox  father  say  it? 

"The  earthquake  last  night  wrecked  the  Mor- 
mon Temple  and  killed  the  highest  officer  of  the 
Church? 

"Shall  I  say  that  it  was  the  judgment  of  God? 

"The  earthquake  last  night  demolished  a  low 
saloon  and  killed  the  proprietor  and  five  degraded 
sots? 

' '  Shall  I  say  it  was  the  judgment  of  God  ? 

"The  earthquake  last  night  hurled  a  stone 
upon  an  honest,  devout  Catholic  woman  who  was 
kneeling  in  prayer  and  whose  death  found  her 
clutching  a  crucifix. 

' '  Shall  I  say  it  was  the  judgment  of  God  ? 

"The  toll  of  three  score  dead  within  the  con- 
fines of  our  beautiful  city  tells  other  strange  tales. 

"Here  death  overtook  a  worthy  citizen  and 
there  a  hardened  criminal  was  left  alive. 

"Here  a  life  was  ended  which  was  devoted  to 
service  to  fellow  men  and  there  a  miser  met  his 
doom. 

"Here  a  devoted  mother  met  death  and  there  a 
brutal,  besotted  father  escaped  with  only  a  broken 
leg. 

"Shall  we  say  in  each  case,  'It  was  the  judg- 
ment of  God?'  " 

Changing  from  the  slow  solemnity  of  his  open- 
ing words,  the  orator  became  impassioned  in 
manner  and  profoundly  impressive  and  convinc- 
ing. 


THE  CREST  OF  THE  WAVE         525 

"The  rain  falleth  alike  upon  the  just  and  the 
unjust. 

"How  long,  oh  how  long,  will  humanity  take  to 
learn  the  great  lesson  that  God  never  uses  any 
natural  phenomenon  or  natural  force  to  reward  or 
to  punish? 

"How  much  longer  will  our  race  grope  in  the 
darkness  of  the  belief  that  God  directly  interferes 
in  any  way  with  individual  human  destiny? 

* '  To  most  of  you  it  will  be  as  though  you  heard 
a  strange  language  when  I  say  to  you  that  the 
Religion  of  Human  Progress,  of  which  I  am  a  dis- 
ciple, announces  beliefs  and  a  faith  in  the  Infinite 
One  which  are  as  high  above  the  belief  that  He 
ever  interferes  by  special  act  in  the  affairs  of  men 
and  nations  as  is  the  polar  star  above  the  frozen 
earth  pole. 

"Infinite  Justice  must  not  be  weighed  by  finite 
souls,  but  a  single  clear  glimpse  of  God's  true 
revelations  forever  bars  the  thought  that  He  ever 
by  direct  act  brought  death,  yea,  or  health,  or 
sickness,  or  poverty  or  wealth,  or  any  fortune 
whether  good  or  bad,  to  any  human  being,  or  to 
any  community  of  men  or  to  any  institution  of 
men. 

"God  governs  the  physical  universe  by  an 
aggregation  of  physical  laws,  which  Science  has 
gradually  spelled  out  in  many  ways,  and  He  never 
interferes  with  their  operation. 

"Last  night's  earthquake  was  not  the  judg- 
ment of  God  upon  my  poor,  deluded  half-sister, 
nor  yet  upon  the  President  of  the  Mormon  Church, 
nor  upon  any  one  of  the  three  score  who  are  dead. 

"It  was  not  the  direct  act  of  God  at  all. 


526  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"  Science  says  to  you,  one  and  all,  that  the 
earthquake  occurred  through  a  slip  of  the  great 
Wasatch  fault  brought  about  by  strictly  natural 
causes  which  reach  backward  probably  half  a  mil- 
lion years,  possibly  a  million  years  agone,  when 
that  great  geological  displacement  first  took 
place." 

In  graphic  delineation  the  orator  told  of  the 
grand  geological  upheavals  which  are  evidenced 
in  the  displaced  rock  strata  plainly  seen  in  the 
Wasatch  mountains  from  the  city  itself  and  de- 
picted the  huge  fissuring  which  took  place  so  long 
ago,  but  which  can  be  read  by  the  student  as  is  a 
book. 

He  explained  the  cementation  which  always 
takes  place  after  such  an  upheaval,  and  how  a 
small  segment  of  the  great  fault  probably  lying 
almost  beneath  the  Mormon  Temple  through  a 
number  of  contributing  causes,  undoubtedly  act- 
ing together  for  years,  suddenly  slipped  a  little 
bit,  and,  by  reason  of  the  great  mass  of  rock  struc- 
ture involved,  violently  shook  the  neighborhood 
and  caused  the  destruction  they  had  seen. 

Next  the  speaker  eloquently  demonstrated  the 
proneness  of  unthinking  humanity  to  ascribe  rela- 
tively unusual  natural  phenomena  directly  to  God, 
and  especially  if,  by  coincidence,  human  destiny, 
either  individual  or  communal,  is  affected. 

Then,  in  bold,  rapid,  succinct  sentences,  were 
told  the  foundation  principles  of  the  Religion  of 
Progress. 

It  was  Darwin  Snowson's  hour  and  with  power 
and  strength  and  wisdom  and  the  eloquence  of 
truth  did  he  meet  the  great  occasion. 


THE  CREST  OF  THE  WAVE         527 

In  the  three  smaller  halls  of  the  great  struc- 
ture the  assembled  disciples  of  the  Society  of 
Progress  likewise  heard  the  wonderful  address 
with  shining  eyes  and  great  hopes  for  the  future. 

When  the  last  strong  words  were  spoken  and 
the  spell  was  released,  the  great  assemblage  saw 
Mabel  Smith  arise  upon  the  platform  and  then 
heard  sung  the  wonderful  Hymn  of  Human  Prog- 
ress. Its  noble  words  rang  in  glory  to  the  farthest 
recess  and  illumined  faces  revealed  its  inspiration. 

Then  those  who  had  been  upon  the  streets  the 
night  before  saw  again  the  Invocation  attitude  of 
the  Religion  of  Progress. 

Darwin  Snowson  had  arisen  and,  with  open 
eyes  and  upturned  face  and  far  stretched  arms, 
began  that  Invocation  to  the  Infinite  One  which 
was  to  be  his  last  act  ere  the  swelling  crest  of  the 
hundredth  wave  of  destiny  should  overwhelm  him. 

"Oh!  Thou  Infinite  One,  God  of  the  Universe 
and  of  our  souls,  we  give  to  Thee  our  worship  and 
the  love  of  our  souls. 

"We  have  slowly  spelled  out  Thy  plan  for  the 
spiritual  progress  of  humanity  and  we  now  know 
that  Thou  and  Thy  Divine  Love  are  manifest  in 
Thy  Divine  Plan  which  unfolds  under  a  realm  of 
great  spiritual  laws  which  we  can  use  to  progress 
upward  towards  Thee. 

"We  know  that  Thou  hast  given  all  mankind 
the  power  to  advance  in  spirituality,  and  that 
through  the  wonderful  uplifting  force  of  Thy  laws 
Thou  art  ever  impelling  us  to  better  love  towards 
our  fellow  men  and  better  spiritual  and  temporal 
co-operation  with  them  and  to  higher  love  and 
higher  worship  of  Thee. 


528  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

"We  ask  Thee  not  for  bread;  we  ask  Thee  not 
for  health;  we  ask  Thee  not  for  personal  safety 
from  earthquake  or  pestilence  or  any  earthly  fate, 
for  we  know  that  in  the  working  out  of  Thy  Plan 
we  must  guard  ourselves  and  our  fellow  men  as 
we  may  in  respect  to  all  things  which  pertain  to 
the  physical. 

"We  know  that  in  Thy  Plan  the  physical  is 
subordinate  and  temporary  and  that  the  spiritual 
is  supreme  and  immortal.  Yet  we  know  also  that 
through  the  Spiritual  we  may  do  much  to  bring 
physical  health  to  the  earthly  embodiments  of  our 
personalities. 

' '  We  ask  Thee  not  to  purify  our  souls ;  we  ask 
Thee  not  to  cause  us  to  give  greater  love  to  our 
fellow  men  or  to  cause  us  to  more  fully  co-operate 
with  them  for  our  mutual  spiritual  and  temporal 
advancement;  for  we  know  that  Thou  dost  not 
thus  deprive  us  of  the  spiritual  power  to  act  for 
ourselves. 

*  *  Nevertheless  we  know  that  Thou  art  ever  im- 
pelling all  of  us  through  Thy  laws  of  spiritual 
growth  to  do  these  things,  and  that  if  we  worship 
Thee  in  spirit  and  truth  we  will  ever  yield  more 
and  more  devotion  to  Thy  Plan,  to  the  end  that 
better  justice,  better  human  institutions,  better 
opportunities  for  earthly  happiness  and  for  spir- 
itual growth  shall  prevail  everywhere  on  earth 
and  hereafter  will  ever  be  opened  up  to  all  who 
partake  of  Thy  divine  endowment,  the  power  of 
spiritual  advancement  granted  by  Thee  to  each 
human  personality. 

"We  esteem  this  endowment  as  the  best  gift 
of  our  race  and,  as  far  as  we  honestly  and  truth- 


THE  CREST  OF  THE  WAVE         529 

fully  may,  we  pledge  to  Thee  that  we  always  will 
endeavor  to  consciously  work  with  Thee  in  the 
unfolding  of  Thy  great  Plan. 

"We  know  that  in  Thy  Plan  and  in  Thy  su- 
preme justice  all  men  are  spiritual  brothers  and 
all  women  are  spiritual  sisters  and  that  it  is  Thy 
desire  that  we  shall  strive  by  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral co-operation  to  insure  to  all  our  brothers 
and  sisters  of  the  race  equal  spiritual  uplift  and 
greatly  bettered  temporal  conditions. 

"We  seek  harmony  with  Thy  Plan.  We  seek 
harmony  with  Thee.  We  feel  Thy  love  for  us 
within  our  souls  in  every  impulse  towards  better 
spirituality,  and  in  every  impulse  towards  purifi- 
cation of  our  personalities.  We  know  that  Thy 
way  shall  be  our  way  if  we  truly  give  heed  to  Thy 
desires. 

"May  we  learn  to  worship  Thee  more  worthily. 

"May  we  strive  to  make  the  earth  spiritually 
as  Thou  desireth  ii:  to  be. 

"In  Thy  great  Plan  for  humanity  we  see  Thy 
pledge  of  immortality  to  mankind  and  our  faith 
is  complete  that  Thou  hast  granted  to  us  a  future 
beyond  the  portals  of  physical  death  in  which  as 
disembodied  personalities  we  will  have  oppor- 
tunity to  grow  towards  Thee  in  broadening  knowl- 
edge and  ever  higher  spirituality,  and  perhaps  in 
that  realm  we  may  also  have  the  privilege  of 
bringing  spiritual  uplift  to  those  of  our  race  who 
have  not  gained  the  better  vision  ere  physical 
death  overtook  them. 

"Oh!  God,  may  we  strive  to  be  worthy." 

As  the  solemn  Invocation  ceased,  the  auditors 
who  had  been  stilled  almost  to  breathlessness,. 


530  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

were  suddenly  horrified  to  see  a  wild,  gaunt,  shag- 
gily bearded  figure  step  from  a  little  recess  to  the 
right  of  the  speaker  and  with  outstretched  arm 
fire  two  quick  shots  at  Darwin  Snowson,  who 
turned  slowly  towards  the  assassin  with  an  air  of 
bewilderment  and  then  sank  back  into  the  chair 
from  which  he  had  arisen  to  commence  his  ad- 
dress. 

As  the  assassin  shot,  he  wildly  exclaimed: 
"You  seek  to  destroy  the  Church  of  the  Latter 
Day  Saints  and  God  has  told  me  to  kill  you." 

In  the  meantime,  a  wiry,  alert  figure  had 
darted  forward  and  grabbed  the  extended  arm  of 
the  assassin,  only  to  receive  the  third  shot  directly 
through  his  own  heart. 

Thus  Moses  Trustell  became  the  first  martyr 
of  the  Society  of  Progress  and  of  the  Eeligion  of 
Progress. 

Twenty  pairs  of  arms  had  now  pinioned  the 
assassin  and  as  the  captors  instinctively  turned  to 
Darwin  Snowson  from  his  bloodless  lips  they 
heard  him  say: 

"Do  not  harm  him.  He  must  be  insane.  He  is 
still  a  brother  of  our  race.  See  that  he  is  properly 
cared  for." 

Then  blackness  overcame  the  Lesser  Master 
and  down  towards  the  eternal  stop  fluttered  his 
weakening  heart-beats. 

The  hundredth  wave  of  destiny  had  over- 
whelmed him  and  was  sweeping  him  out  to  the  sea 
which  takes  personality  past  the  portal  of  death 
into  the  spiritual  realm  beyond. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  PURITAN  AND  THE  LESSER  MASTER. 

IN  A  large,  airy  room  of  a  hospital  that  night 
Darwin  Snowson  slowly  came  back  to  con- 
sciousness to  find  a  skilled  physician  who  was 
a  disciple  of  the  Society  of  Progress  gazing  at 
him  with  a  grave  face,  while  the  nurse  in  uniform 
busied  herself  in  customary  sanitary  precautions. 

With  a  rare  smile  the  wounded  man  whispered 
faintly,  "Do  not  look  so  seriously,  doctor.  If  the 
worst  comes  I  fear  nothing.  I  am  sure  my  mother 
will  not  mourn  when  she  realizes  that  my  work 
culminated  in  today's  events.  I  am  ready  to  pass 
the  portals  if  it  must  be. ' ' 

The  wounds  were  possibly  fatal  and  much  de- 
pended upon  the  rallying  power  of  the  patient. 

The  doctor  had  listened  with  concealed  anxiety 
to  the  words  of  his  loved  friend  and  the  note  of 
resignation,  which  appeared  so  clearly,  did  not 
please  him. 

Had  Aunt  Eleanor  been  there  perhaps  she 
could  have  accounted  for  the  mental  attitude  of 
the  young  man. 

As  the  doctor  pondered  the  cause  of  the  pa- 
tient 's  lack  of  that  mental  fighting  strength  which 
he  would  have  guaranteed  would  help  in  the 
struggle  for  Darwin  Snowson 's  life,  a  gentle  tap 
on  the  door  caught  his  attention. 

Beckoning  to  the  nurse  to  see  who  knocked,  he 
was  quickly  summoned  to  the  door  to  find  Eobert 

531 


532  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Young  in  a  plainly  excited  condition.  Fearing  the 
effect  on  his  patient,  he  stepped  into  the  corridor 
and  as  a  result  of  a  hasty  conference  he  reached  a 
quick  decision. 

Bringing  Robert  into  the  room  he  was  not  sur- 
prised to  see  the  same  rare  sweet  smile  of  resigna- 
tion glow  into  Darwin's  face  when  he  saw  his 
dearest  friend. 

A  whispered  direction  to  the  nurse,  a  slight 
stimulant  administered  and  then  the  doctor  said: 

"  Darwin,  do  you  think  you  can  stand  some 
good  news  that  Robert  brings  you  1 ' ' 

With  wondering  eyes,  Darwin  turned  towards 
his  friend  and  nodded  his  head  slightly. 

Then  Robert  spoke  softly  and  slowly: 

' '  Darwin,  you  must  live  now.  I  have  news  for 
you  which  you  could  not  dream  would  come.  Oh, 
my  friend — your  love  for  Faith  Winthrop  is  not 
hopeless,  as  you  thought.  She  loves  you  com- 
pletely and  is  coming  to  be  with  you." 

Waiting  a  space,  while  wonder  grew  to  hope, 
and  hope  into  a  great  gladness  in  the  eyes  of  his 
friend,  Robert  then  continued: 

"Listen  to  the  telegram  I  have  just  received 
from  Aunt  Eleanor.  I  wired  her  at  once  of  what 
happened  to  you  and  this  is  her  reply: 

"  'Tell  Darwin  that  his  interpretation  of  my 
letter  was  all  a  mistake.  It  is  his  mother  who  is 
to  marry  our  Beloved  Philosopher.  Faith  Win- 
throp knows  all  and  sends  this  message  to  Darwin : 
"Your  love  confessed  to  Aunt  Eleanor  is  most 
welcome  to  my  heart.  In  the  shadow  of  your  dan- 
ger I  am  proud  to  tell  you  that  I  have  loved  you 
almost  since  we  met.  Aunt  Eleanor,  your  mother 


PURITAN  AND  LESSEE  MASTER    533 

and  myself  are  starting  tonight  to  come  to  you  as 
fast  as  we  can.  I  want  you  to  live  for  my  sake 
and  am  sending  you  every  minute  all  the  love  your 
heart  can  desire. ' ' 

It  was  a  different  patient  the  doctor  now 
viewed. 

Robert  Young  had  gently  clasped  the  hand  of 
his  friend  and  the  look  of  courage  and  determina- 
tion and  bright  hope  which  radiated  from  the  face 
on  the  pillow  bespoke  a  winning  battle  in  the 
coming  struggle. 

On  the  second  day  a  vision  of  loveliness  came 
softly  into  the  room  where  Darwin  Snowson  lay. 

The  nurse  had  warned  him  to  expect  a  visitor 
and  not  to  move  for  fear  of  opening  up  his  wounds. 

But  the  light  that  illumined  his  face  when  he 
saw  Faith  was  so  compelling  that  the  sweetheart 
who  had  come  to  him  felt  hope  and  happiness 
surge  in  her  heart. 

Gently  bending  over  the  high  hospital  bed,  the 
beautiful  face  of  the  proud  puritan  girl  yielded  its 
first  tribute  to  the  lips  of  her  lover,  and  Faith  mur- 
mured a  hundred  expressions  of  love  and  happi- 
ness that  he  was  gaining  in  strength. 

Then,  realizing  that  she  might  be  harming  him, 
she  seated  herself  where  she  could  clasp  his  hand 
and  gaze  at  his  noble  face,  which  seemed  to  her 
the  realization  of  all  her  maiden  dreams  and 
hopes. 

The  watchful  nurse  believed  that  good  instead 
of  harm  to  her  patient  would  come  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  one  who  was  plainly  his  heart's  desire, 
and,  with  a  caution  that  they  should  not  talk 
much,  she  slipped  out  of  the  room. 


534  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

If  Faith  gently  stroked  Darwin's  hair  and  her 
soft  hands  fondled  his  face  and  her  lips  again  and 
again  met  his  in  softness  and  tenderness,  was  it 
not  the  best  medicine  he  could  have? 

When  the  autocratic  nurse  returned,  she  re- 
minded Faith  that  there  was  another  visitor 
waiting  and  that  Darwin  must  rest  awhile  before 
seeing  his  mother,  so  with  a  promise  of  coming 
back  as  soon  as  the  doctor  would  permit,  and  a 
few  more  sweetheartings,  Faith  slipped  out  of  the 
room,  but  not  without  a  lingering  backward 
glance  which  Darwin  thought  completely  charm- 
ing. 

Was  Naomi  Snowson  blushing  when  at  last  she 
encountered  the  gaze  of  her  son? 

Certainly  she  was  happy  to  find  that  her  boy 
was  making  the  winning  fight  towards  recovery, 
but  Darwin  thought  he  detected  a  little  constraint 
in  her  manner  and,  like  a  wise  son,  he  softly  said 
to  this  charming  mother  of  his : 

"Mother  mine,  I  want  you  to  feel  that  your  boy 
is  perfectly  delighted  to  know  that  you  are  going 
to  marry  our  Beloved  Philosopher,  and  I  am  sure 
he  is  to  be  congratulated  on  winning  so  sweet  and 
charming  a  companion  as  my  lovely  mamma. ' ' 

The  blush  was  apparent  then,  and  the  nurse 
thought  how  very  young  Mrs.  Snowson  must  have 
been  when  she  first  married. 

There  was  still  another  visitor  that  day,  and 
when  Aunt  Eleanor  came  into  Darwin's  room  you 
may  be  sure  that  there  was  plenty  of  space  in  his 
heart  for  a  loving  welcome. 

So  these  three  saw  Darwin  gain  day  by  day 
and  carried  encouraging  reports  to  the  ever-wait- 


PURITAN  AND  LESSER  MASTER    535 

ing  brothers  of  the  Seven,  as  well  as  the  many 
thousands  of  Disciples  of  the  Society,  who  valued 
the  life  of  the  Lesser  Master  as  a  precious  jewel 
to  shine  in  the  future  glory  of  the  Religion  of 
Progress. 

A  great  surprise  awaited  Darwin  when 
strength  had  come  back  to  the  frame  which  had 
been  wrecked  by  the  assassin's  bullets. 

The  hundredth  wave  of  destiny  had  indeed 
reached  far. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE   SURGE   OF  THE   WAVE. 

FAR  and  wide  had  spread  the  news  of  the 
earthquake  in  the  City  of  the  Great  Salt 
Sea;  far  and  wide  had  flown  the  tale  of  the 
alleged  revelation  to  the  Mormon  devotees;  far 
and  wide  had  gone  the  story  of  the  tragedy  which 
had  engulfed  in  death  the  President  of  the  Church 
and  the  Apostle's  wife. 

But  a  greater  thing  had  befallen. 

The  hundredth  wave  of  destiny  which  over- 
whelmed the  Lesser  Master  of  the  Society  of 
Progress  had  surged  in  vast  breaking  foam  o'er 
all  the  land  and  far  beyond  the  ocean's  bounds. 

With  the  story  of  the  attempted  assassination 
of  Darwin  Snowson  there  went  on  world-embrac- 
ing electrical  currents  in  strong  synopsis  the  story 
of  the  Society  of  Progress  and  of  Darwin's  great 
Sermon  of  Science. 

From  a  thousand  widely  distributed  sources 
came  requests  for  fuller  knowledge,  and  already 
the  six  comrades  of  the  Lesser  Master  had  pub- 
lished his  address  and  had  sent  it  to  every 
inquirer. 

And,  when  Darwin  was  permitted  to  consult 
again  with  the  staunch  friends  who  had  shared 
his  labors  for  the  redemption  of  Mormondom  from 
soul  slavery,  it  was  joyful  news  indeed  which 
greeted  him. 

He  was  first  told  of  many  thousands,  Mormon 

536 


THE  SURGE  OF  THE  WAVE         537 

and  Gentile  in  Utah,  who  were  demanding  knowl- 
edge of  the  Keligion  of  Progress  and  then,  with 
gleaming  faces,  the  others  of  the  Seven  told  of  the 
universal  request  in  letters  from  over  the  globe 
that  Instructors  of  the  Religion  of  Progress  be 
sent  to  teach  this  Religion  of  Science  to  souls 
which  had  waited  long  for  the  religion  which 
would  reconcile  Science  and  rational  Worship  of 
God. 

Better  yet,  he  was  met  with  a  letter,  just  re- 
ceived, from  the  Beloved  Philosopher,  commend- 
ing the  great  work  which  had  been  done  in  Utah, 
and  urging  the  Seven  to  join  him  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Religion  of  Progress  throughout  the 
world. 

It  was  the  call  of  the  race,  the  call  of  their 
spiritual  brothers;  and  each  of  the  Seven  knew 
in  his  soul  what  his  answer  would  be. 

That  night  the  Beloved  Philosopher  addressed 
an  audience  which  filled  to  the  doors  the  greatest 
hall  in  the  city  of  Chicago  and  the  next  day  the 
great  Central  Society  of  the  Religion  of  Progress, 
with  ten  thousand  charter  members  was  formed. 

With  what  joy  the  Seven  heard  the  news,  and 
with  what  affection  they  learred  that  their  Be- 
loved Philosopher  had  told  to  his  hearers  the  story 
of  the  Society  of  Progress  ar  d  had  highly  valued 
the  work  they  had  done,  and  had  by  name  denom- 
inated them  the  first  Instructors  of  the  Religion  of 
Progress. 

Need  it  be  told  how  the  Instruction  of  the 
Seven  Degrees  of  the  Society  of  Progress  became 
the  wide-spread  fundamental  instruction  of  the 
Religion  of  Progress  and  how  the  address  of  the 


538  THE  HUNDREDTH  WAVE 

Beloved  Philosopher  to  the  inchoate  Central  So- 
ciety and  the  Sermon  of  Science  of  Darwin  Snow- 
son  inspired  the  great  growth  of  the  new  Religion? 

Need  it  be  told  that  soul  slavery  to  base  con- 
cepts of  God  have  begun  to  die  out  and  soul 
freedom,  without  loss  of  love  of  righteousness,  has 
grown  in  a  wonderful  way  amongst  those  who 
were  blinded  to  the  Truth? 

Need  it  be  told  how  the  Great  Master  of  the 
Society  of  Progress — ' '  Truth ' ' — has  been  gaining 
in  power  amongst  mankind,  and  how  the  Spiritual 
Brotherhood  of  all  men  and  the  true  Spiritual 
Kinship  of  our  souls  with  God  are  coming  to  be 
universally  recognized? 

Need  it  be  told  that  the  Religion  of  Progress 
is  teaching  men  how  to  give  true,  unselfish,  loving 
service  and  co-operation  to  those  of  our  race  who 
need  it  and  that  it  is  teaching  them  individually 
how  to  climb  the  Upward  Way  towards  the  Ideal 
and  towards  the  Infinite  One  ? 

Need  it  be  told  how  human  institutions  are 
changing  to  the  better  justice  of  true  brotherhood, 
and  how  universal  peace  is  sure  to  come  soon,  as 
the  physical  death  in  war  of  our  spiritual  brothers 
is  recognized  as  a  soul  crime  against  the  Divine 
Plan? 

The  spiritual  fe.-ment  of  the  whole  world  is 
telling  you  all  these  things  and  the  soul  of  our 
race  is  quickened  to  welcome  them. 

May  I  live  to  be  the  historian  who  will  tell  of 
the  final  conquest  of  the  world  to  the  spiritual 
brotherhood  of  man  through  the  Religion  of 
Truth. 

THE  END. 


' 


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